Youth justice staff charged with arranging fight at Oranga Tamariki’s Korowai Manaaki residence in Wiri

Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis said he was “deeply concerned” after a video of MMA-style fighting emerged out of an Oranga Tamariki youth justice residence. Photo / Newshub

Two staff members at a youth justice facility in Wiri, South Auckland, have been charged with arranging a fight between teens who were supposed to be in their care.

The arrests come one month after video emerged of an MMA-style fight at the facility, prompting multiple staff to be stood down.

The defendants, a 23-year-old Manukau Heads resident and a 22-year-old from Otara, were set to have their first appearances in Manukau District Court today for two counts each of ill-treatment or neglect of a child under 18.

Police allege in court documents that the men facilitated and encouraged fights between the residents “likely to cause suffering” via physical assault. The charges relate to one specific fight alleged to have taken place in June at Oranga Tamariki’s Korowai Manaaki residence.

The alleged fight was “a major departure from the standard of care to be expected of a reasonable person”, court documents state.

Police confirmed the arrests to the Herald today and said an investigation into the incident remains ongoing.

“As matters are before the Court we are limited in further comment,” a police spokesperson said. “However, we cannot rule out further charges being laid as a result of the investigation.”

Korowai Manaaki has 46 beds, eight of which are for girls. Photo / Michael Craig

A video of the fight was revealed by Newshub last month, prompting Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis to say the next day that it was “totally unacceptable” and he was “deeply concerned”.

Korowai Manaaki is the largest of five youth justice residences in New Zealand, able to accommodate up to 46 young people at a time. It was also the site of a recent protest in which five residents spent the night on the roof - coaxed down from the 30-hour standoff the next day with fast food.

If convicted of the ill-treatment charges, the employees could face a sentence of up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.