The solitary confinement of a 13-year-old Queensland boy with a disability was "cruel", had "no rehabilitative effect" and was a "direct breach" of the state's youth justice laws, a judge has ruled.
The teen, who cannot be identified, pleaded guilty last week to robbery in company after admitting to being part of a group attack on a trolley attendant at a shopping centre last year.
A published decision from his sentencing hearing in the Queensland Children's Court said two people in the group hit the man in the back with sticks, pulled him to the ground, stole his mobile phone and then demanded he give them money and buy them cigarettes.
The decision said it was not clear if the boy was personally involved in the physical attack, but he was legally responsible as he "did not walk away from it".
Judge Tracy Fantin said the offending was "disgraceful" and a "terrible thing to do" and it was lucky the man was not seriously injured.
"He was just trying to do his job to earn money, probably for his family, and it would have been frightening for him to have that happen to him," she said.
'Let down by the state'
The decision said the boy, who had been diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, had a "very difficult childhood" and "suffered the consequences" of his parents being drug users and abusive.
"None of that is any of your fault," she said.
"Those adults have let you down and, in some ways, the state, which was meant to be caring for you in New South Wales and Queensland, has also let you down."
Judge Fantin said the boy had also taken drugs from age 10, and this combined with his medical conditions and family background, stopped him from being able to "make good decisions" and control his "thinking and impulses".
"You have some understanding that what you did was wrong, but because of the things which have happened to you, you find it hard to understand how another person might have felt," she said.
The decision said the teen had a "very limited criminal history", which included assault and car theft offences, but he had never been ordered to serve any time in detention for these.
However, he had spent 139 days in custody, including at least five days inside police watch houses, while on remand at separate times for those previous charges and this offence.
Judge Fantin said this was "completely contrary to the regime of the Youth Justice Act", which states detention should only be used "as a last resort" and "for the least time that is justified".
"To detain a 13 and 14-year-old child in a detention centre for such a long period of time is a significant punishment," she said.
Details of detention revealed
The decision said the Department of Youth Justice refused to release specific information to Judge Fantin about "separation" periods the boy was subject to while in custody.
This refers to how many times a child has been locked in their cell, for more than the 12 hours they are locked down overnight for sleep.
A court order was made for these details to be released, and it revealed during the last 87 days the boy spent at the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre, he had been confined to his cell for 78 days "for 20 hours or more".
It said for 10 of the 87 days, he was unable to leave for 24 hours.
During this time, he developed behavioural problems, including damaging property, being abusive and threatening to assault staff, the decision said.
Judge Fantin said this could be expected when you "lock up a child for such lengthy periods with no stimulation".
"A child is likely to respond by behaving poorly," she said.
"As other judicial officers in other jurisdictions in this country have observed, if you treat a child like an animal, it is unsurprising that they may behave like an animal."
'Cruel and inappropriate'
Judge Fantin said his detention was "significantly more onerous that it otherwise would have been" and would have had a "detrimental effect of a significant nature" on his physical, psychological, and emotional wellbeing.
"The circumstances in which you have been detained have been cruel, inappropriate, and have served no rehabilitative effect," she said.
"Your incarceration for large periods of time in solitary confinement, or virtually in solitary confinement … is a direct breach of the Charter of Youth Justice principles."
Judge Fantin said the period of time spent would have no impact on the safety of the public and the "state of Queensland must bear responsibility for that".
"Your period in detention will have achieved little or nothing to protect the community from your future offending," she said.
"Indeed, it may well have increased the risk of further offending by you."
Judge Fantin sentenced the boy to a reprimand, which is a formal warning from the court, and did not record a conviction.
