Convicted child murderer Arthur Phillip Freeman has been rushed to hospital after being bashed in prison.
Freeman, now 54, was allegedly assaulted in the Western Plains Correctional Centre in Lara on Wednesday, as reported by the Herald Sun.
A spokesperson from the Department of Justice and Community Safety said the incident involved two prisoners.
“One prisoner was taken to hospital for assessment and has since returned to the prison. No staff were injured,” the spokesperson said. “Victoria Police has been notified, and the incident will be investigated.”
Freeman was convicted of murdering his four-year-old daughter in March 2011, after throwing her off the West Gate Bridge two years earlier.
After deliberating for five days, a jury found Freeman had consciously, voluntarily and intentionally tossed Darcey Iris Freeman to her death at 9.15am on January 29, 2009.
He was sentenced to a non-parole period of 32 years in prison, with Victorian Supreme Court Justice Paul Coghlan expressing Darcey’s last thoughts “bear not thinking about”.
“Her death must have been painful,” Justice Coglan said during sentencing.
“[The] killing [was done] in the presence of your sons Ben, who was six, and son Jack, who was two at the time. The community hopes he will be too young to remember.”
The day before Darcey died, the Family Court had reduced Freeman’s access to his children during a custody dispute with his ex-wife and the children’s mother, Peta Barnes.
Coghlan said Freeman “used” Darcey to hurt his former wife “as profoundly as possible”, choosing a place that was public and would have the most dramatic impact.
He said he was not satisfied that Freeman’s behaviour showed remorse, and found the father to be self-centred and “yet to say sorry for what you had done”.
Darcey was due to start prep school on the day she was killed.
Police on Thursday confirmed a prisoner had been taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and detectives would investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Ambulance Victoria was unable to comment due to patient privacy laws.
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