How Cassius Turvey's mother fought for justice
That day finally came on Friday, with the sentencing of three men in Perth.
A warning, this story from Rhiannon Shine contains the image of an Indigenous person who has died.
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ABC News
17 minutes ago
- ABC News
Former Canberra childcare worker on trial for acts of indecency against two children in his care
Warning: This story contains details of child sexual abuse. A former childcare worker is facing trial in the ACT Supreme Court accused of committing acts of indecency on two children who were under his care. Muhammad Ali was working at a Belconnen childcare centre in 2022 when the alleged conduct took place. The alleged victims were a four-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl, with Mr Ali now facing two counts of an act of indecency on a child under 10. He has pleaded not guilty to both charges. In court on Tuesday, the jury was shown a police interview from May 2022 with the three-year-old girl. The girl tells the interviewing officers that Ali pulled her and another child's pants down and touched her "on the noo-noo" in the centre's play shed. "He said he wanted to feel it," the girl tells police. "He finished and then he pulled our pants back up." When the girl was asked by the officers how many times Mr Ali touched her, she replied, "A lot". The court heard Mr Ali's alleged conduct first came to light when a four-year-old boy made disclosures to his mother after he was picked up from the centre in April 2022. The boy's mother gave evidence in court, describing how "everything sort of went into slow motion" when her son told her that Mr Ali had pinched his penis while his pants were on. "I put him in the car seat … and could see he was upset," the mother told the court. "I asked again and he said Ali had pinched him on the doodle and I said, 'Hold on a minute, who's Ali?' "He said, 'Ali's my teacher'." The mother recorded the disclosure on her phone and that footage was shown to the court today. In the video, the mother asked her son how it made him feel when Mr Ali pinched him. "It just makes me feel sad and makes me not have a good day," the boy replied. The jury was also shown a police interview with the boy in which he repeated those allegations. "He pinched me on the doodle and it hurted [sic]," the boy told the interviewing officer. "He thinks it was fun and it was not fun for me. "Then I bited [sic] him, I bited him on the arm. And he didn't like it." The mother told staff at the centre what he son had told her and was later informed Mr Ali had been stood down,pending an investigation. The court heard that when the allegations were put to Mr Ali the next day, he laughed and asked which child had made the accusations. The matter was later reported to ACT Policing. During his opening address, prosecutor Marcus Dyason told the jury it was up to them to decide whether Mr Ali's conduct should be considered indecent. "For an act to be indecent, it needs to be indecent according to reasonable members of the community," Mr Dyason said. Mr Dyason also added that the prosecution alleges that Mr Ali had a tendency to show interest in young children. "The prosecution alleges … the accused had a tendency to have an interest in young children and a tendency to act on that interest," he said. In her much shorter opening address, defence barrister Sarah Baker-Goldsmith told the jury the case lacked objective evidence. "None of these alleged incidents were captured on any of the centre's CCTV cameras. "There is no objective evidence before you, I suggest."
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Mildura real estate agency avoids fine after rental advertised without fixed price
A Mildura real estate company accused by Victoria's consumer protection watchdog of rental bidding has escaped without a conviction or hefty fine. On Tuesday, the real estate agency pleaded guilty in the Mildura Magistrates' Court to advertising a property for rent without a fixed price. Consumer Affairs Victoria fined PRD Mildura $11,855, but the company chose to contest it in court and the fine was dropped. The maximum penalty for a corporation in Victoria is $61,053. The Victorian government brought the law into effect in 2021 to stop real estate agents from creating a bidding war between prospective tenants amid the state's housing crisis. The court heard PRD Nationwide Mildura director and company secretary, Simone Fleshig, had organised for a Red Cliffs property to be listed online through a third-party tenancy management software tool. But a tenancy plan with the tenant renting the property meant the lease would begin at the initial price of $550 before being increased to $580 after the tenancy began. The court heard the software listed no fixed price for the rental listing and instead prompted the prospective tenant to contact the agency. The court heard it also listed the increased price in the body. Consumer Affairs Victoria investigated the listing. The court heard Ms Fleshig became aware on a Friday afternoon when someone contacted her about renting the property and told her about the "price on application" listing. The court was told Ms Fleshig apologised to the potential renter and sent her the correct listing price of $550. PRD Mildura's lawyer Tyler Wolff told the court there were two boxes to tick while uploading a rental listing, and the price on application function overrode Ms Fleshig's selection. "It's a huge fine," Magistrate Patrick Southey said of the fine imposed by Consumer Affairs Victoria. "It is," Mr Wolff replied. Mr Wolff told the court Ms Fleshig corrected the mistake two days later when she returned to the office, had lodged a support ticket with the software tool's developer, and implemented a two-step procedure at PRD Mildura to prevent it from happening again. Since Victoria's rental taskforce began investigating rental bidding in 2021, its officers have fined more than 40 agencies for not using fixed prices in their listings. Information from Consumer Affairs Victoria showed PRD Mildura was one of five real estate agencies to be taken to court this month by the state watchdog over contravening rental bidding laws. It said the agencies were issued with infringements but chose not to pay their fines and instead have their matters heard at court. Consumer Affairs Victoria lawyer Temple Saville told the court it wanted the court to hand down a fine to the real estate company for the breach. The court was told the fine was issued by Consumer Affairs Victoria two days after Ms Fleshig corrected the listing. The court heard Ms Fleshig chose to contest the fine in court after seeking a review of the investigation and fine by Consumer Affairs Victoria, but the state watchdog chose to bring the matter to court. Magistrate Southey said PRD Mildura's offending was the result of an "honest" mistake that was fixed quickly. "The behaviour the government is trying to fix is not evident here," he Southey said. PRD Mildura received a 12-month good behaviour bond without conviction.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Dominique Grubisa withdraws caveat on QLD home
The caveat of bankrupt property spruiker Dominique Grubisa on a $995,000 Trinity Beach, Queensland apartment has been withdrawn. Her beneficial co-interest, with her sister via a 2005 family trust, did not get a mention on her recent statement of affairs, but her trustee Michael Jones is aware of the 2016 caveat. The beachfront abode, which is under offer, was bought by an aunt in 2012 for $440,000. Earlier this month, Grubisa went into voluntary bankruptcy. Grubisa blamed it on 'unemployment, marriage/relationship breakdown, business failure and legal action'. Her current bank balance is $73, with no assets other than $5000 in jewellery. Grubisa's statement of affairs advises she owns no property in NSW, nor car, super, shares, bitcoin or betting account. Wedgewood Lodge, her former luxury Bobbin Head Rd, North Turramurra trophy home, was sold in 2023 for $5.28m, with Grubisa advising that all the proceeds went to ex-husband Kevin as part of a matrimonial settlement. She is living rent-free at an undisclosed location, noting it was not with a spouse, parents or other family member. The director of the DG Institute wealth through property seminar program sought to keep her occupation suppressed in the statement of affairs submitted to trustee Michael Jones. She advised debts totalling $3.44m, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) being owed $1.95m. Last December, the Federal Court of Australia full court dismissed Grubisa's appeal against the ACCC case that found her DG Institute made false or misleading representations to consumers in the promotion and sale of education programs called Real Estate Rescue (RER) and Master Wealth Control (MWC) between 2017 and 2022. More than 3000 consumers paid between $4500 and $9200 to enrol. Grubisa had appealed against the $1m penalty that she was ordered to pay, which was accompanied by being disqualified from managing a corporation for five years. The court ordered Grubisa to pay the ACCC's costs. Her conduct was 'deliberate and dishonest', Federal Court Justice Ian Jackman found in 2024.
