Court to decide housing fate of teen charged with grabbing woman's breast

Monday 08 January 2018

The Royal Court will today decide whether a teen offender charged with putting a female member of staff at his accommodation in a headlock and grabbing her breast should remain in a secure unit.

Ben (name changed to protect anonymity), who is in his teens, was detained for 72 hours “for the protection of staff” following a Youth Court hearing in relation to the alleged assault, which was witnessed by one other person, in December.

Later that month, legal representation for the Minister for Health and Social Services, Senator Andrew Green, argued that the boy should remain there because there were no alternative accommodation options apart from sending him back to the scene of the alleged assault.

Presiding Commissioner Sir Michael Birt, who sat with Jurats Crill and Ramsden, granted the order, but expressed dissatisfaction that the Minister had made “little progress” in finding the youth a “bespoke accommodation arrangement” despite being requested to do so previously. 

Under the Children (Jersey) Law 2002, it is forbidden to place children in secure accommodation "for the purpose of restricting liberty", but can be done if the child has a history of absconding or is a danger to himself or herself or others. The Care Inquiry criticised the amount of young people placed in secure accommodation in comparison to other jurisdictions. Its author, Frances Oldham QC, argued that it showed authorities prioritised containment over child welfare.

Ben’s secure accommodation order came around one year after he moved away from his family due to becoming “beyond parental control” when his family situation broke down. Despite the move, his misdemeanours continued.

His new residence reported him missing over 100 times, while the Police raised the alarm with the Minister over Ben’s behaviour on 146 occasions. There was also “clear evidence” that Ben had become involved in drugs and alcohol while absconding.

Throughout 2017, Ben attended the Magistrate’s Court for a number of offences.

Immediately before committing the alleged assault against the female member of staff last month, Ben was said to have engaged in “strange behaviour… which involved him taking his trousers down and inviting them to inspect his buttocks.” This "sexual aspect" to the offence caused concern among Court officials, but they were later told that a report would be carried out and that the boy may be given therapy.

Ben’s representative, Advocate Davies, argued that detaining the teenager would be wrong. She said that living in secure accommodation could threaten the good progress he was making at work placements he was engaged in, all of which were said to bring him “much satisfaction.” 

Pictured: Ben attended the Magistrate's Court after being charged with a number of offences, including occasions of assault.

In his judgement, Sir Michael appealed to the Minister to allow Ben to be allowed to leave the secure accommodation to complete his activities. 

“It is clear that this is a very positive development and if this were to be stopped now we think it would be negative. Therefore we very much hope that that will be encouraged,” he commented.

He added: “On the other hand, Ben’s future lies in his own hands.  If he behaves himself, if he comes back when he promises to come back, if he behaves well when he is given any freedom, then all well and good.  But, if he does not, then he can expect that these privileges of attending these various activities may be withdrawn and it will have an impact on whether we renew the order.”

A decision will be taken today.