Prison for riot brothers

TWO brothers from Aurukun involved in the last year’s Cleveland Youth Detention Centre riot last year have been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended after they have served half the period.

The boys, now aged 17 and 15, were sentenced yesterday in Townsville Children’s Court after pleading guilty to rioting causing grievous bodily harm and wilful damage.

A staff member was blinded in the left eye during the No- vember 10 riot, which lasted 14 hours as young offenders climbed on the roof, barricaded staff in a building and used rocks and metal bars torn from the airconditioning unit as weapons.

The riot, which was attended by 60 police, was sparked after centre staff cancelled a rugby league game because of misbehaviour at the facility earlier that day.

Judge Gregory Lynham said he was taking account of the boys’ background, which included family violence and a lack of support.

“When you read the presentence report, neither of these boys really had any chance from the get- go,” he said. “The pre- sentence reports make some very bleak reading.”

Defence barrister Viviana Keegan said her client, the 15- year- old boy, felt remorse for his actions.

“His instructions are he does follow his older brother and cousins, who were all participating in the riot,” she said.

The 17- year- old boy was also given a jail term for an incident where he was part of a group that climbed on top of a shade sail structure at Cleveland Youth Detention Centre in August 2016, before spend- ing seven hours on top of a nearby building.

He received a second twomonth sentence for common assault for throwing rocks at a staff member during the incident and a third two- month sentence for an incident in October 2016, where he grabbed a female detention centre worker by the throat.

The 15- year- old was sentenced to three months’ im- prisonment over an incident where he was part of a group that broke art supplies and threw them at workers before assaulting other inmates.

One brother will be released today, while the other is expected to be released in two weeks because of time already served.

So far, 18 of the offenders involved in the riot have been sentenced, with imprisonment ranging between two and three years.

The final two offenders will be sentenced on December 4.