Former Don Dale staffer instructed detainee to eat faeces on camera, then posted film to social media
- Details
- Category: Youth Detention
- Created: Monday, 20 March 2017 14:26
- Written by Ryan Liddle - NITV News, SBS and AAP
A series of videos shown at today’s Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory appears to show certain staff were routinely involved in inappropriate behaviour with detainees.
A former Northern Territory youth prison guard has admitted to jokingly asking detainees to perform oral sex on him, urging a child to eat faeces and filming a boy urinating.
The one-time Youth Justice Officer made the recordings on a mobile phone, despite being requested by senior staff not to take his phone into the facility. Mr Zamolo told the Commission he shared the videos to social media, via Snapchat, because he found the behaviour of inmate’s amusing.
Three separate videos were obtained and played at today’s hearing from Former Don Dale Youth Detention staffer, Conan Zamolo.
In one of the videos that appears to depict a detainee eating what is believed to be excrement, Mr Zamolo’s voice is heard saying “Go, go, go! Eat it. Eat it. Eat that shit. Eat that little bit of shit.”
Mr Zamolo said he was "just mucking around" when he dared a child to "eat shit".
In another video, Mr Zamolo films the entering into of cells of two detainees at approximately eleven o’clock at night.
“Oi, you wanna….who wants to suck my dick? Which one of you boys wants to suck my dick?” Mr Zamolo is heard saying.
When cross examined by Senior Counsel Assisting Peter Callaghan QC, Mr Zamolo said he had heard of incidents of youth being lead to parts of the Don Dale facility that had no video surveillance, for the strict intent that inmates could fight one another.
In the third video, Mr Zamolo enters a toilet block where he proceeds to film an inmate urinating.
When questioned about his conduct and interaction with detainees, Mr Zamolo said much of it was done in a light hearted or joking manner with inmates he had built a rapport with.
Mr Zamolo was never disciplined for any of those incidents, but was later sacked for an unrelated matter.
The hearings will continue tomorrow.
Source : http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2017/03/20/former-don-dale-staffer-instructed-detainee-eat-faeces-camera-then-posted-film
