A patient who punched a doctor in the face and indecently assaulted a nurse has been found to be mentally impaired.
In a decision published this week, Justice Louise Taylor found the 36-year-old guilty of two counts of arson, and one of contravening a family violence order.
The ACT Supreme Court accepted special verdicts of not guilty by reason of mental impairment for committing an act of indecency without consent, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, contravention of a family violence order and using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence.
This means the offender will be kept in a secure mental health facility and will not be released until treating doctors believe they no longer pose a danger.
The court heard the patient had been diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia and likely borderline personality disorder, among other mental illnesses.
The offender has not been named to protect the identity of the victims and due to mental health diagnoses.
The offender had been a patient at the Dhulwa Mental Health Unit at various points since 2019.
In April 2022, the patient absconded from the secure unit and called their mother, saying they had spent $500 on "ice and hookers".
They were later arrested at Kingston Railway Station and returned to the custody of Dhulwa staff.
A few days later, doctors and staff at the unit visited the patient's room to explain privileges would be revoked.
When a forensic psychologist explained the new care plan, the offender rushed towards her and punched her in the temple causing bruising to her eye.
As the doctor turned away in an attempt to shield herself, the person pulled her hair and tried to strike her again.
The patient was then restrained and taken to a seclusion room.
The day before, the offender indecently touched a nurse's bottom before saying "how you doing?" in a "provocative and sexualised tone".
Justice Taylor found that the 36-year-old had taken methamphetamine in the days before the assault, which exacerbated their schizophrenia.
As a result, the patient was not in control of their actions and not capable of reasoning the wrongfulness of such actions.
Later that year, in August 2022, the person threatened to rape and stab their mother in phone calls and text messages.
They had been released from custody at that time and the woman feared for her safety and that of her family.
After being arrested for contravening a family violence order, the offender called the mother from jail.
In the recorded call they made more threats including, "when I'm done murdering you you're not going to be f---ing recognisable."
The same day the offender called ACT Policing to report a murder.
"I am going to f---ing murder my mother ... I'll get in a f---ing taxi, I'll go straight to her house," the offender said from jail.
While the person was found guilty of contravening a family violence order, they were determined to be mentally impaired during the police call.
In the Alexander Maconochie Centre in October 2023, the 36-year-old man, who identifies as a woman, lit a fire in a cell because they were "angry about not being able to buy the wig he wanted".
The damage to the linoleum cost $2345 to repair.
A psychiatrist found the inmate experienced "underlying delusions" including an "irrational" hatred toward their mother and "gender ideas" as part of a "serious psychotic illness".
About a year later, the prisoner put stickers over the smoke detectors in the cell and lit another fire. This time the blaze caused more than $37,500 in damage.
The judge found the offender guilty of arson. She said the lighting of the fires was "deliberate and considered" and intended as a form of protest.
