Queensland government to ‘investigate’ 32-day detention of child, 13

Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren said the boy was kept in solitary confinement for all but 60 seconds a day on 11 occasions. Photograph: Dave Hunt/AAP

The Queensland government is investigating reports of a child being detained for a month despite the boy telling a court he wanted to plead guilty to charges for which a judge says he was unlikely to be sentenced to detention.

The 13-year-old boy, referred to in court documents as Nathan*, was detained in Cleveland youth detention centre in Townsville for 32 days after being charged with six offences, including unlawful use of a motor vehicle and entering a dwelling, in February.