Teen pleads not guilty to assaulting Don Dale guards, alleging bullying, denial of food and illegal separations

A teenager who was allegedly bullied by a guard, denied food and illegally placed in solitary isolation is fighting to have evidence against him thrown out of court.

It is alleged the 16-year-old was locked in solitary confinement when he sprayed the two YJOs with a water bottle, before punching them as they barged into the cell. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

A teenager who was allegedly bullied by a guard, denied food and illegally placed in solitary isolation has pleaded not guilty to lashing out at the notorious Don Dale Detention Centre.

The teenage boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denied he assaulted two Youth Justice Officers in 2021, instead accusing them of serious breaches of the Youth Justice Act.

On Friday the boy’s lawyer Clancy Dane argued the evidence against his young client should be thrown out as it was “unlawfully obtained”. 

It is alleged the teen was locked in solitary confinement when he sprayed the two YJOs with a water bottle — possibly containing urine — before punching them as they barged into the cell.

However Mr Dane said one of the alleged YJO victims, who also cannot be named, spent a week bullying the boy and had “singled him out” and denied him lunch right before the alleged assault.

The boy’s lawyer Clancy Dane argued the evidence against his young client should be thrown out as it was “unlawfully obtained”. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

In their initial cross examination the YJO claimed that the teenager was agitated and “heightened” during the Sunday barbecue lunch — pacing up and down, plotting with other children and repeatedly threatening to “shank” guards.

The guard repeatedly claimed that he “exhausted every therapeutic measure” to de-escalate the child before placing him in ‘separation’, also known as solitary isolation.

However, Mr Dane said prison footage showed this was a “complete concoction”.

“(You can see him) slumped over the table, looking completely dejected watching other children have their lunch and said nothing to the officer,” he said.

After ten minutes of asking and being denied his food, Mr Dane said the teenager possibly told a guard: “If you keep treating me like this I will make a shank”.

CCTV showed the child was then immediately moved into solitary isolation.

Prison signs hang from the fence around Don Dale Youth Detention Centre. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

Mr Dane said it was clear from the footage that attempts to find “reasonably practical” alternatives or any therapeutic measures — as required under the Youth Justice Act — were non-existent.

Judge Tanya Fong Lim also questioned the extent of the “de-escalation”, with little conversation, no search of his room, or even an offer to feed the child.

“Given that the child was saying he was angry because he hadn’t been fed, wouldn’t the therapy measure be to feed him?,” Ms Fong Lim asked.

Mr Dane said the Don Dale Royal Commission found solitary isolation was a “flawed” management technique, which was “psychologically damaging and contributed to poor behaviour”. 

“The isolation of young people in the NT has been considered treatment that is cruel, inhuman and degrading — possibly amounting to torture,” he said.

“That power is meant to be used sparingly.”

The 2021-22 Office of the Children’s Commissioner annual report raised concerns about “an evident regime of isolation in cells for children in Don Dale”, amid rolling lock downs and 173 separation incidents over 12 months.

Mr Dane said the treatment of the “powerless” boy by the Don Dale guards should not be “trivialised”.

“Stripping a child of their dignity and wilfully, deliberately and arbitrarily taking their rights is an egregious breach when they are the guardians of those children,” he said.

However Prosecutor Kylie Smith denied there was any illegality on behalf of the Don Dale workers.

“It is not quite inconsistent with the standards our society would expect …. asking a child to wait five to 10 minutes while the next batch of food is cooked,” Ms Smith said.

Mr Dane said it was clear from the footage that attempts to find “reasonably practical” alternatives or any therapeutic measures — as required under the Youth Justice Act — were non-existent. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

She said that given the risk of an escalation, the YJO’s decision to isolate the teen after the alleged threats was consistent with the Act.

Ms Smith told the judge at its highest the YJO’s actions may have been a “minor” or “unintentional breach”, but said the child could instead seek damages for the unlawful detainment.

“That’s a fairly novel argument … you’re actually arguing because (he) could actually sue in relation to any impropriety that this YJO has allegedly done, I shouldn’t exclude the evidence,” Ms Fong Lim said.

Ms Fong Lim adjourned her decision until March 28.