Police investigate alleged sexual assault of 12yo Don Dale detainee

There are renewed calls to close down the notorious Don Dale youth detention centre after allegations a 12-year-old was sexually abused by another kid.

There are renewed calls for the immediate closure of the Northern Territory’s Don Dale youth detention centre after the alleged attempted sexual assault of a 12-year-old detainee.

Barrister John Lawrence SC said a 17-year-old detainee tried to sexually assault the 12-year-old detainee at Don Dale in July.

“Fortunately, on my understanding, it was stopped and he was subsequently charged and he will appear in the youth court I think in mid-October,” he said.

Mr Lawrence, one of Darwin’s most experienced barristers and a former head of the Criminal Lawyers Association of the NT, has been campaigning for almost a decade to have Don Dale shut down.

“It’s just another graphic, vulgar illustration of why Don Dale needs to be closed down yesterday,” he said.

NT Barrister John Lawrence has called for Don Dale to be closed down for almost a decade. Picture: Justin Kennedy

In a statement the Department of Territory Families, Housing and Community said: “The safety and wellbeing of all young people, staff and visitors at our youth justice centres is our priority. The matter was referred to Northern Territory Police at the time of notification.”

Sky News has confirmed the detainee was charged with aggravated assault and will appear in court on October 16.

NT Police said: “Due to the small cohort of people involved, we will not be identifying this individual or providing any further information about this matter.”

The treatment of detainees at Don Dale was the subject of a Royal Commission, which delivered its final report in 2017.

“Recommendation one was that it has to be closed and that was in November 2017, so that’s what five, six years ago and it remains as is,” Mr Lawrence said.

Since then there have been serious incidents of self-harm, repeated assaults on staff and an attempt in 2018 to burn the facility down.

Almost 100 per cent of Don Dale’s detainees are Aboriginal.

“But for the fact they’re Aboriginal this would not be going on,” Mr Lawrence said.

“My children would never be held in a facility such as this, it would never be countenanced, but Aboriginal people are third class, they have no representation, they have no voice, and sadly they themselves along with others in the community have become normalised to this. They know their place.”

One of the 227 recommendations from the 2017 Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory was a review of Territory Families’ policies and processes around sexual assault allegations.

This included reviewing the level of supervision and support offered to young people with an alleged history of sexually abusive behaviour and that “any history of allegations involving sexual assault or indecent assault is taken into account when placing detainees in shared facilities”.

– Matt Cunningham is the Sky News Darwin bureau chief and North Australia correspondent.