A Children’s Court was told on Friday that the boy had been charged with recklessly causing injury and unlawful assault following the “inexplicable” incident against a staff member on August 26 this year.
The boy, who was on a youth supervision order at the time, was also charged with stealing two pairs of gloves worth $45 from Bunnings in Shepparton on July 5, along with entering a vehicle in Brighton East on September 4 in an attempt to steal items from inside.
The court heard the Youth Justice Service was not supportive of the boy being bailed, which police agreed with, describing his risk of further offending upon release as unacceptable.
“He has an appalling history of compliance with any court order,” police said.
“The charges before the court are serious, serious examples of the offending … Youth Justice don’t have the confidence they can keep him from re-offending with what they have in place currently.”
The boy’s lawyer argued against these claims, telling the magistrate they could impose any conditions suitable to help the boy if he was bailed.
She described the boy’s performance on his current youth supervision order as “not amazing but not terrible”, acknowledging the difficulties her client had faced due to the impact of COVID-19 on these services.
“All services have been entirely suspended or gone completely online — it is a difficult thing for young people to engage with these services,” the lawyer said.
“He has attended the majority of his Youth Justice appointments during COVID. Since being on the youth supervision order his level of engagement is somewhat low but he has good family support in the Shepparton area.”
The lawyer urged the magistrate to take into account the young age of her client, his Aboriginal heritage and the need to strengthen and preserve the relationship between child and family.
The court heard the boy was “remorseful”, with his lawyer saying he risked spending more time on remand then he would be sentenced to due to the impact of COVID-19 on the legal system.
The magistrate disagreed with these claims, saying he had never come across a situation where the Youth Justice Service was not supportive of bail.
“I fail to see there are any conditions that could be imposed that could guarantee his, or ensure to a reasonable degree, his compliance,” he said.
“I’m sure you’ll be advising him to resolve these matters at the earliest possible opportunity.”
The boy is expected to face a Children’s Court again later this month.
No plea was entered.
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