A Canberra father has been accused of child neglect after he was allegedly spotted shaking a pram with his infant son inside as he walked along the Monaro Highway, while his other three young children were allegedly left unsupervised.
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The 31-year-old man, who cannot be named, yelled expletives and punched a door frame as police led him away from the ACT Magistrates Court, where he was denied bail on several child neglect charges on Tuesday.
He has not yet entered pleas.
A police statement of facts alleged the man's wife alerted police after she left the children, all aged 10 years or younger, in his care one day last week and returned home to find two of the children alone in the front yard.
She found the couple's third child, a toddler, in a playground 100 metres from the house.
A friend called to say she'd seen the defendant walking alongside the highway looking "horrible", sweating, and walking in and out of bushland, court documents said.
The man's wife allegedly told police her husband suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and was not taking his medication.
On their way to the pair's house, police responded to reports of a man seen violently shaking a pram with a child inside next to the road.
A witness said she had watched the man as he shook the pram erratically from side to side for several minutes.
Police approached the accused, who they believed was under the influence of an illicit substance because he was confrontational, agitated, fidgety, disoriented, constantly moving his lower jaw and scratching himself, court documents said.
He was arrested on Monday after police went to the couple's house with child protection workers.
The man said he told the eldest child to walk the younger two children home from the park, while he took the baby for a walk, after his wife said on the phone she would be home soon.
He claimed he then got lost as he walked through the bush looking for bike jumps.
The defendant denied he shook the pram, saying he had rocked it in a normal manner and would never hurt his son.
He told police he knew he should have walked home with the older children, who were allegedly unsupervised for about an hour, but he'd made "some bad decisions", court documents said.
The man said he'd had taken a speed-based prescription diet pill but was not under the influence of illicit drugs.
Prosecutors opposed bail on grounds he would likely re-offend, there were concerns over his mental health, he had a significant criminal history and had previously breached court orders.
The defendant's Legal Aid lawyer said the alleged offences had stemmed from a misunderstanding between him and his wife, who he'd believed was going to be home a few minutes after they spoke.
He said his client claimed he had not used illicit substances since 2012.
A police informant gave evidence that the couple had agreed to an appraisal by ACT Child and Youth Protection Services. However, workers held "serious and significant concerns" over carrying out that visit while the defendant was present.
She said the agency had a history of involvement with the man's children.
Magistrate Peter Morrison told the court the man's "very erratic behaviour" suggested either drug use or mental health issues and was of particular concern.
Mr Morrison refused bail on grounds there was a likelihood the man would fail to appear in court and could endanger the children's safety.
The case will return to court next month.
