A teen had disengaged from his studies and was skipping class before he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman while she was out running, a court has been told.
The 16-year-old faced a children’s court on Monday, where he was denied bail after being charged with several offences including rape, stalking, false imprisonment, assault and recklessly cause injury.
A woman had been running along a walking path at Jacana, in Melbourne's west, on August 14 when the boy allegedly ambushed her from behind, threw her to the ground and sexually assaulted her.
She managed to escape and ran to a car park, where two passers-by assisted her and called police.
DNA evidence taken from the victim's clothes and body was forensically tested and matched the teen, the court was told on Monday.
The boy's defence lawyer argued he should be released on bail after spending six days on remand.
"Given it's his first time in custody, the solitary effect of that and the knowledge that if he commits offences and endangers the community he will return to custody," his lawyer told the court.
"That weighs even further to deter him from re-offending."
The teen's mother said he had disengaged from his studies before the alleged offending, and she had attempted to contact the school to ensure he could catch up but did not receive a response.
She said she would dedicate her time as a full-time mother to monitoring the boy if he was released on bail.
The prosecution opposed bail, saying he was an unacceptable risk to the community.
The prosecutor said the teen's parents were in denial over the allegations.
"If he is released on bail, they can't mitigate the risk ... He would need an intensive level of monitoring," he said.
A magistrate denied the teen's release after finding there was not a clear plan to manage him while on bail.
"I'm not satisfied the risk can be mitigated," she told the court.
"This is very serious offending (and it's) hard to understand the nature of why it has happened."
The boy will return to court on September 20.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
