A former prisoner has broken down while giving evidence about a jailhouse attack that landed him in a coma for 17 hours, tearfully telling a court two fellow inmates "treated me like a soccer ball".
The man told the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday that he had no memory of the Alexander Maconochie Centre assault, over which Cedric Roberts and Brendon Walters have been charged.
But he said he had been told about what happened by Rhys Dugdale, who was his cellmate when the incident occurred in December 2018.
He said that, according to Dugdale, Roberts and Walters entered his cell, where the latter grabbed a railing on the top bunk and "took the biggest swing up and kicked me in the face".
The man said he had been told his head slammed into a wall and knocked him out, making a sound "just short of a gunshot".
Wiping away tears, he said Dugdale had informed him that both Roberts and Walters then kicked him in "the guts" and head, before jumping on his arms and face.
"They absolutely treated me like a soccer ball," the man said.
"Kicked, punched, did whatever they could for the time two or three minutes take. Nearly killed me."
While he had no independent recollection of the incident, the man said he did remember having had "a verbal" with Walters about a tattoo gun a few hours earlier.
The man also claimed that on two occasions after he was assaulted, Roberts had called him a "dog" and told him things like: "I should've f---en killed you when I had the chance."
Roberts and Walters have both pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
When a hearing into the charges began last Friday, Roberts' barrister Jason Moffett suggested he would argue that Dugdale may have been responsible for the attack.
Walters' lawyer, Andrew Byrnes, said "a number of other suspects" seen on CCTV coming and going from the relevant cell could be to blame.
The victim grew highly agitated on several occasions while being questioned about his evidence on Monday, repeatedly shouting at or about Mr Moffett during cross-examination.
"This guy's trying to stitch me up," the man yelled at one point.
"I was f---ing f---ed up. [Roberts and Walters] literally f---ed me up."
The hearing continues.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
