Lewis
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
Lewis is a First Nations man in his 30s. He lives with an intellectual disability and grew up in a regional community.
‘There was a lot of alcohol and drugs, a lot of criminal activity going on around me. A lot of violence. It wasn’t very good for a kid … [I] had a hard time as a young fella.’
When he was in his mid-teens, a court sentenced Lewis to several years in prison for sex offences.
‘As a person with a disability, it was tough, rough,’ said Lewis. ‘Not good for anyone who’s got a disability, never taught me anything.’
Lewis’s lawyer told the Royal Commission that when Lewis was released after serving his full term, the state imposed an extended supervision order for another decade.
‘The conditions [of the supervision order] appeared to be punitive mechanisms of lifestyle control. The conditions imposed curfews. They controlled [Lewis’s] movement, which prevented him from visiting family and other members in his kin network.’
Lewis’s intellectual disability made it difficult for him to understand the terms of the supervision order. His lawyer said ‘the state was made aware’ of Lewis’s ‘low risk of sexual re-offending’ and that the supervision order was causing harm.
Lewis told the Royal Commission correctional department officers would visit to ‘check in’ and try to trick him into revealing breaches, such as visiting his mother. As a result, he was sent back to jail more than a dozen times.
‘They [the state] should be helping the people, not trying to breach them and trying to blackmail them, bully them, lie to them to benefit themselves,’ he said.
One time, after being sent to prison for breaching a curfew, Lewis became addicted to methamphetamine.
When he wasn’t in prison, Lewis attended art classes. He held an exhibition and sold several paintings, but breached the supervision order again and was jailed.
Lewis was in jail when a court found that the supervision order was punitive and ‘contrary to law’.
He said it was the first time he’d felt like ‘a free man’.
‘I can actually sit down with my mum, sister, brother, uncle and cousins. I can go out bush and see all my family. They all haven’t seen me properly since I was 16.’
The NDIS has since helped Lewis find a support network and cultural programs to help him continue his rehabilitation through art and contact with his family.
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.