Former inmate of Ashley youth prison reveals he was DENIED medication until he performed sexual acts
Trigger warning: Graphic content
TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA: Two former inmates of Ashley Youth Detention Centre in Tasmania have shared the gruesome details of how they were allegedly raped and sexually abused while in custody. An inmate with the pseudonym Warren revealed that the guards allegedly did not give him the medication until he performed sexual acts.
Warren, who has given evidence at Tasmania's Commission of Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings, shared that he always tried to keep it to himself at the facility where he was sent 21 times over five years. Another former inmate called Simon, who was sent to Ashley about seven times from the age of 10, too revealed that the guards at the detention center allegedly used to beat him, watched him take shower, and made him undergo humiliating strip searches.
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‘The abuse alternated between oral sex and masturbation’
Warren, according to The Daily Mail, recalled the sexual abuse he faced during his time at the facility. “When it was time for me to have my medication, the guards would restrain me by grabbing my arms and pinning them behind my back to the point where it felt like my arms were about to break or my shoulder would pop out of the joint,” said Warren, adding, “The abuse alternated between oral sex and masturbation, depending on what they could get away with on that day.”
Sharing his ordeal, Warren continued, “In addition to the forced oral sex and masturbation, (one of the guards) would also penetrate my anus with his penis whilst another restrained me so I could not move,” adding, “I was anally raped over 20 times over the course of my stay at Ashley.” Warren revealed that he was sexually assaulted about 50 times during his time in Ashley adding that the abuse started when he was 14 years old.
Talking about his current state of mind, Warren stated, “I am a father and would never want any of this to happen to them if they were to take the same road in life that I did. I hope they don't. Ever since being in Ashley, I have suffered with my mental health and battled substance abuse” adding, “I have felt suicidal since leaving Ashley and have tried to commit suicide.”
‘It was just disgusting the way they treat kids’
Another former inmate named Simon shared an incident revealing that he was allegedly forced to spend two weeks in isolation with just a horse blanket to keep him warm. This happened because he failed to listen to staff instructions. “It was freezing, I'm telling you, it was freezing, it felt like it was snowing. I was freezing”, said Simon alleging that the guards would often hit minors over rule breaking. He added, “It was just disgusting the way they treat kids, you know what I mean, there was no need for it. They can't stick up for themselves.”
A former employee named Alysha too dished out details to the commission dubbing working at the facility as “torturous.” “I've never felt so helpless in my life. There was nothing I could do to reduce the risk”, said Alysha. Former Tasmanian Children's Commissioner Mark Morrissey told the commission, “We've heard evidence of young people being locked in their cells for a week or two or longer alone, often on weekends due to staffing, short staffing” adding, “For a young person to be locked in a room, in my view, that does constitute a form of torture.”