news, crime, canberra jail, amc, strip-search, aboriginal woman, alexander maconochie centre
A woman who alleges she was strip-searched in front of male prisoners has been granted bail after a court heard she might have died if she remained in Canberra’s jail. The Aboriginal woman, who is in her 30s, claimed in January to have been subjected to harrowing mistreatment while being held on remand in the Alexander Maconochie Centre’s crisis support unit. She wrote a letter saying jail staff in “full squad gear” had entered her cell to forcibly remove her clothing, in an apparent effort to ensure she did not have anything dangerous on her. The woman said she was a sexual assault survivor and that she had felt degraded, experiencing feelings of “absolute fear and shame”, as five male inmates watched was happening from their nearby cells. She has indicated, through Aboriginal Legal Service lawyer Dean Rutherford, that she will sue authorities over the episode. CCTV footage of the alleged incident was played to a closed courtroom earlier this month, when Justice Michael Elkaim refused the woman bail ahead of a trial scheduled for June. But on Wednesday, the woman succeeded in a fresh bid for conditional freedom when her case came before Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson in the ACT Supreme Court. The woman’s barrister, Peter Tierney, told the court the woman had serious heart problems and “a faulty pacemaker”, as well as other medical issues that had not been properly treated while she was behind bars. He tendered evidence that included reports compiled by doctors, saying one of them had expressed an opinion that the woman was “at risk of a death in custody”. “It’s of fundamental importance that the applicant receive appropriate medical care,” Mr Tierney said. Crown prosecutor Patrick Dixon opposed bail, saying there was “a real likelihood” the woman would fail to appear at her trial on charges including aggravated burglary. He argued that the case against her was strong and that she had an incentive to flee because jail time would be “inevitable” if she was convicted. Mr Dixon said the woman also knew she was wanted in NSW and facing likely time behind bars there. Justice Loukas-Karlsson decided to grant bail, imposing a lengthy list of conditions that included daily reporting to police and a nightly curfew, as well as bans on the woman leaving the ACT and consuming alcohol or illicit drugs. The judge stressed to the woman that it was particularly important to abide by terms that she not contact, threaten, harass or intimidate the witnesses expected to give evidence in her trial. “If you were to do something like that, you’d be hurting yourself,” Justice Loukas-Karlsson said. The woman had also been previously refused bail in the ACT Magistrates Court on an unrelated fraud charge, to which she has pleaded not guilty. But Magistrate Peter Morrison held an urgent bail hearing on Wednesday afternoon after Justice Loukas-Karlsson’s decision. He also granted the woman bail, with almost identical conditions, allowing her to walk out of court.
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The Aboriginal woman, who is in her 30s, claimed in January to have been subjected to harrowing mistreatment while being held on remand in the Alexander Maconochie Centre’s crisis support unit.
She wrote a letter saying jail staff in “full squad gear” had entered her cell to forcibly remove her clothing, in an apparent effort to ensure she did not have anything dangerous on her.
The woman said she was a sexual assault survivor and that she had felt degraded, experiencing feelings of “absolute fear and shame”, as five male inmates watched was happening from their nearby cells.
But on Wednesday, the woman succeeded in a fresh bid for conditional freedom when her case came before Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson in the ACT Supreme Court.
The woman’s barrister, Peter Tierney, told the court the woman had serious heart problems and “a faulty pacemaker”, as well as other medical issues that had not been properly treated while she was behind bars.
He tendered evidence that included reports compiled by doctors, saying one of them had expressed an opinion that the woman was “at risk of a death in custody”.
“It’s of fundamental importance that the applicant receive appropriate medical care,” Mr Tierney said.
Crown prosecutor Patrick Dixon opposed bail, saying there was “a real likelihood” the woman would fail to appear at her trial on charges including aggravated burglary.
He argued that the case against her was strong and that she had an incentive to flee because jail time would be “inevitable” if she was convicted.
Mr Dixon said the woman also knew she was wanted in NSW and facing likely time behind bars there.
Justice Loukas-Karlsson decided to grant bail, imposing a lengthy list of conditions that included daily reporting to police and a nightly curfew, as well as bans on the woman leaving the ACT and consuming alcohol or illicit drugs.
The judge stressed to the woman that it was particularly important to abide by terms that she not contact, threaten, harass or intimidate the witnesses expected to give evidence in her trial.
“If you were to do something like that, you’d be hurting yourself,” Justice Loukas-Karlsson said.
The woman had also been previously refused bail in the ACT Magistrates Court on an unrelated fraud charge, to which she has pleaded not guilty.
But Magistrate Peter Morrison held an urgent bail hearing on Wednesday afternoon after Justice Loukas-Karlsson’s decision.
He also granted the woman bail, with almost identical conditions, allowing her to walk out of court.
