A man with a suspected intellectual disability has been allegedly unlawfully detained and tasered in Adelaide’s south, with a video of the ordeal uploaded onto social media, a court has heard.
Key points:
- The 33-year-old alleged victim was allegedly assaulted at a Seaford home
- A 31-year-old man who lives at the home was arrested and charged
- Video allegedly shows the victim crying and pleading not to be tasered
A 31-year-old man – whose identity has been suppressed – has been remanded in custody, charged with the unlawful detention and aggravated assault of a 33-year-old man at the defendant’s Seaford home in July.
The Adelaide Magistrates Court heard police were called to a disturbance at the property at the time and found the victim with an injury to his right foot, allegedly telling officers he had sustained it by falling off a bicycle.
The prosecutor Darin Clearwater told the court they later found a two minute and 53 second video of the alleged ordeal on social media with the victim seen crying, visibly scared and pleading not to be tasered.
“In the video is a red light which is a laser pointed at the victim and his face and head as the victim raises his hands in a defensive motion,” Mr Clearwater told the court.
“The victim is seen to be physically scared and pleads to the accused and co-accused not to be tasered or shocked by this device.
“The co-accused fires the device and strikes the victim in his left leg causing him to grasp his leg in obvious pain.
Mr Clearwater said the video also showed two men searching the alleged victim’s phone contacts.
“The accused mentions in the video that the victim owes him money and as a result the accused demands that the victim does a job for him; the specifics of that job are not known,” Mr Clearwater said.
The court heard the video also showed the alleged victim forcibly kicked forward twice and struck in the torso area.
Mr Clearwater said the alleged offending occurred while the defendant was on home-detention bail and opposed release on bail, saying he was “extremely concerned for the welfare of the victim” and feared the defendant may interfere with the victim and pose a further threat to him.
But the defendant’s lawyer said all parties were known to each other and her client would contest the charges.
“Even with this video, they’re going to need the cooperation of [the alleged victim] as a witness ultimately for these charges to succeed,” she told the court.
“[The alleged victim] has indicated that he’s not wanting to cooperate, and that he thinks essentially that police are mistaken, that it’s all silly and that it’s all a misunderstanding.
“There’s a number of possibilities that that video could represent.
She told the court police had not seized any taser.
Magistrate John Fahey refused bail due to the seriousness of the alleged offending, the consideration for the safety of the alleged victim and because the defendant had allegedly offended while he had other charges pending.
The matter will return to court in December.