The teen was transferred after he attacked staff, following two formal warnings he would be moved to an adult prison if his \u201cviolent behaviour\u201d continued.<\/p>\n
When he arrived at the adult prison he was separated from others due to his age, with records showing he spent an average of more than 22 hours in his cell each day for six weeks.<\/p>\n
The ombudsman, Marlo Baragwanath, said the conditions \u201cbordered on solitary confinement\u201d.<\/p>\n
The report described the cell as \u201ccramped and worn\u201d, with the boy telling the ombudsman he couldn\u2019t see out of the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was shocked \u2026 if you\u2019re in some type of environment like that, I guess you have no hope,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter a while, it starts playing with your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even during his outside hours, he was confined to what the ombudsman described as \u201ceffectively a room that is open to the sky\u201d and handcuffed due to his history of violence.<\/p>\n
The designated outdoor area at the prison unit. Photograph: Victorian ombudsman<\/p>\n
He ate his meals in his cell and drank straight from the tap, because a guard wouldn\u2019t provide a cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like \u2026 \u2018I\u2019m not a dog,\u2019 you know. [The guard] was like, \u2018Huh, you are, mate,\u2019\u201d the teen said.<\/p>\n
He also had no in-person visits from family for the six weeks, telling the ombudsman he was told he wouldn\u2019t be able to touch them: \u201cIf I see them, I want to touch them \u2018cause, you know, that\u2019s my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
The experience led him to suffer \u201cdark, dark thoughts\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy cell was always dark. I can\u2019t see anything,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was playing with my mind. Started thinking stuff I\u2019ve never thought before \u2026 a lot of self-harm \u2026 Suicidal stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under Victorian law, a child aged 15 or older can be transferred to an adult prison as a last resort. However, the ombudsman found proper consideration was not given to the child\u2019s human rights in making the transfer application.<\/p>\n
skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter |Around 2-3 times a day<\/p>\n Sign up to Breaking News US<\/p>\n Get the most important news as it breaks<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cI know many people will find it difficult to sympathise with a child who has been repeatedly violent towards youth justice staff. But human rights apply to everyone, including people accused or convicted of a crime,\u201d Baragwanath said.<\/p>\n Tracy Beaton, Victoria\u2019s principal commissioner at the Commission for Children and Young People, said \u201cchildren\u2019s human rights should never be an afterthought\u201d and welcomed the ombudsman\u2019s eight recommendations, including to ban the transfer of children into adult prisons, though it was rejected by the government.<\/p>\n Mindy Sotiri, the executive director of the Justice Reform Initiative, said the report was \u201cindicative of a system that is failing\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cQuite aside from the harm that is caused to children in these circumstances, this approach does absolutely nothing to rehabilitate that child or reduce the risk of them reoffending,\u201d Sotiri said.<\/p>\n The Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe said: \u201cChildren need love and care and support. When we know that it costs over a million dollars to lock up a child, that money could be better in the wraparound services that actually make a child well.\u201d<\/p>\n The Victorian Greens justice spokesperson, Katherine Copsey, described the report as an \u201cindictment\u201d of the Labor government, who last year introduced \u201cadult time for violent crime\u201d laws<\/a> in response to rising youth offending.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790277012_754_2998.jpg\")
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