Latest news with #Children'sCourt
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
James thought he was meeting a date. Attackers beat him and laughed while he screamed
In each case, shortly after the victim arrived at the park at night, they were confronted by youths hiding in bushes or nearby. In one incident, a then 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, matched with a man on Grindr on October 11 last year. The court was told after a short conversation on the app, the pair agreed to meet at the Donvale Reserve in Melbourne's east. The prosecution told the court the victim was set upon by the group of six teenagers before falling to the ground as he was punched, kicked, and stomped on. As he lay on the ground, the teenagers taunted him, yelling out homophobic slurs and calling him a 'b---h' and a 'paedophile'. The 17-year-old who initiated contact with the victim then threatened the man with a pair of scissors, demanding his mobile phone PIN code. Loading As the youths threatened to 'poke out his eyes', the victim handed over his phone. He was taken to hospital with suspected broken ribs and cheek bone. The 17-year-old pleaded guilty to a spate of charges including unlawful assault, recklessly causing injury, threats to kill, affray and imprisonment. Oliver said Victoria Police had made more than 35 arrests for similar assaults over the past two years. He said the assaults were 'almost identical' across several outer-suburban municipalities, which suggested the perpetrators were communicating with each other via encrypted messaging services such as Telegram. One victim, James, not his real name, said he responded to an invitation from a Grindr profile last October and agreed to meet a man at a reserve in Highett in Melbourne's south-east. When he arrived at the park, he was ambushed by two young men wielding weapons, while another filmed. 'I curled up in a ball and tried to protect myself, but it's all a bit of a blur,' he said. 'They were going for my head and they split me open. I got up a few times and tried to run but kept falling over. They were laughing at me as I was screaming for help.' James said he was unable to comprehend the capacity for such hatred among some young men. 'I'm disgusted that a lot of the community still doesn't accept us. I'm not flamboyant, I don't put it in people's faces and I don't understand why anyone would want to do this,' he said. 'There was a growing acceptance of the gay community, particularly among younger generations, but it feels like that's hit a brick wall. It has a lot to do with toxic masculinity, where young people post and boast online to get street cred,' he said. In a separate case, detailed in the Children's Court, another 17-year-old boy pleaded guilty to a spate of charges including unlawful assault, recklessly causing injury, and robbery offences. The court was told a victim matched with one of the teenagers on Grindr in October last year. The pair agreed to match for a consensual sexual encounter at a park in Box Hill. When the victim arrived, he was struck in the face and fell to the ground before being punched, kicked and having his head stomped on. One teenager pointed a machete at the man, while another hit him with a metal stick. The victim tried to flee but was tackled to the ground and put in a chokehold by the 17-year-old, the court heard. Graphic footage of the attack, which was played to court, showed the victim curled up on the ground in the dark park, his face covered in blood and trousers pulled down, while the teenagers violently assaulted him as he screamed for help. The cases mirror a spate of similar crime spree reported in NSW earlier this year, where investigators discovered videos were being posted to TikTok and Instagram accounts that purport to be part of a trend known as 'paedo hunting'. In sentencing the two 17-year-old boys to 12 month probation orders on Tuesday, Judge Jack Vandersteen said the teenagers' conduct was 'cowardly and violent'. 'Why do it? Why hurt another person to that extent?' Vandersteen asked the pair. 'To be able to see the fear that each of the victims have … Why do it twice? Why do it once? 'None of you had any empathy ... for the pain, humiliation and fear you were inflicting.' Vandersteen said he remained baffled why two young people from supportive and stable families would embark on such vicious attacks. The Age can also reveal earlier this month, three men, Abdullah Bloch, Albin Idrizi and Madhi Nowruzi, all aged 20, pleaded guilty to a spate of charges including kidnapping, armed robbery and assault-related offences at the Victorian County Court. At a hearing on May 16, disturbing details of their alleged crimes were aired in court for the first time including how the trio allegedly lured men into parks or quiet streets after connecting with them on dating sites including Grindr and Scruff using fake profiles before brutally assaulting and robbing them. In at least one of the cases detailed in court, a victim was falsely told that he was meeting a 15-year-old boy. Graphic video footage of his assault, captured on a smartphone, was played to the court. It showed the victim, aged in his 50s, arriving at a park at night in Melbourne's south-east, where he was set upon by the men, who accused him of sexual misconduct and being a paedophile. The man is seen screaming and pleading for his life in the footage as he is violently assaulted, choked and then beaten with a metal pole. In the background, one of the men can be heard saying: 'You came here to have sex with a 15-year-old. Keep your voice down. You're going to get f---d, not us.' As he sits cowering on the ground with his hands over his face, the victim is forced to say homophobic slurs and his attackers tell him to ask 'Jesus for forgiveness'. 'If you call the cops, it's not going to end well for you,' one of the accused can be heard saying to him. 'We went easy on you.' The victim asks if the men have assaulted others. 'Yeah, we've done this before,' one of the accused can be heard responding. During the lengthy assault the men forced the victim to transfer $8000 to them using his smartphone. They also stole $10, his mobile phone, and his wallet. The victim was taken to hospital with a fractured eye socket, fractured nose, bruises and swelling, the court heard. In a different case detailed in the County Court another man went to a park in Melbourne's south-east in September last year, where he was confronted by Bloch, Idrizi, and Nowruzi. Smartphone footage captured of the attack showed the man being spat on and violently assaulted. As the victim lay on the ground, his shoes were ripped off, and the accused men told him he was a 'filthy animal' and a paedophile.
The Advertiser
09-05-2025
- The Advertiser
Four teenagers charged after extensive cross-city air, road police pursuit
Four teenagers have been denied bail after police hunted an allegedly stolen car from the southwest to the eastern suburbs of Sydney. Two 14-year-old boys and two girls, 12 and 17, were charged after an extensive police chase by air, road and foot patrols. The car chase began around 10.30am on May 8 when police attempted to stop a white Mazda CX3 on the Hume Highway at Edmondson Park, which police said was reportedly stolen the day before. NSW Police said the driver allegedly failed to stop as directed and they then initiated a highway pursuit. The chase was terminated along the M5 Motorway towards the M7 at Prospect over safety concerns, according to police. Polair assisted in tracking the car as it travelled along the M5 Motorway at Milperra where the ground police re-engaged. Items were allegedly thrown from the car towards police, so they abandoned the chase again. The car continued to be tracked as it travelled eastbound along the M5 Motorway through local streets in Alexandria, Zetland, Centennial Park, Randwick and Bondi Junction. Police allege the Mazda was dumped inside the Bondi Junction Railway Station bus interchange around 11.20pm, where the occupants fled the car onto the train platform. Plain-clothed officers spotted the teens and chased them on foot, with the teens soon arrested and taken to the Surry Hills Police Station. READ MORE: After 540 days, Valerie the missing dachshund reunited with her owners The 17-year-old driver was charged with two counts police pursuit - not stop - drive dangerously, class A motor vehicle exceed speed more than 45km/h, be carried in conveyance taken without consent of owner, never licensed person drive vehicle on road, goods in custody suspected being stolen and receive property stolen outside NSW. The passengers were charged with carried in conveyance taken without consent of owner. They will appear before the Children's Court on May 9. Four teenagers have been denied bail after police hunted an allegedly stolen car from the southwest to the eastern suburbs of Sydney. Two 14-year-old boys and two girls, 12 and 17, were charged after an extensive police chase by air, road and foot patrols. The car chase began around 10.30am on May 8 when police attempted to stop a white Mazda CX3 on the Hume Highway at Edmondson Park, which police said was reportedly stolen the day before. NSW Police said the driver allegedly failed to stop as directed and they then initiated a highway pursuit. The chase was terminated along the M5 Motorway towards the M7 at Prospect over safety concerns, according to police. Polair assisted in tracking the car as it travelled along the M5 Motorway at Milperra where the ground police re-engaged. Items were allegedly thrown from the car towards police, so they abandoned the chase again. The car continued to be tracked as it travelled eastbound along the M5 Motorway through local streets in Alexandria, Zetland, Centennial Park, Randwick and Bondi Junction. Police allege the Mazda was dumped inside the Bondi Junction Railway Station bus interchange around 11.20pm, where the occupants fled the car onto the train platform. Plain-clothed officers spotted the teens and chased them on foot, with the teens soon arrested and taken to the Surry Hills Police Station. READ MORE: After 540 days, Valerie the missing dachshund reunited with her owners The 17-year-old driver was charged with two counts police pursuit - not stop - drive dangerously, class A motor vehicle exceed speed more than 45km/h, be carried in conveyance taken without consent of owner, never licensed person drive vehicle on road, goods in custody suspected being stolen and receive property stolen outside NSW. The passengers were charged with carried in conveyance taken without consent of owner. They will appear before the Children's Court on May 9. Four teenagers have been denied bail after police hunted an allegedly stolen car from the southwest to the eastern suburbs of Sydney. Two 14-year-old boys and two girls, 12 and 17, were charged after an extensive police chase by air, road and foot patrols. The car chase began around 10.30am on May 8 when police attempted to stop a white Mazda CX3 on the Hume Highway at Edmondson Park, which police said was reportedly stolen the day before. NSW Police said the driver allegedly failed to stop as directed and they then initiated a highway pursuit. The chase was terminated along the M5 Motorway towards the M7 at Prospect over safety concerns, according to police. Polair assisted in tracking the car as it travelled along the M5 Motorway at Milperra where the ground police re-engaged. Items were allegedly thrown from the car towards police, so they abandoned the chase again. The car continued to be tracked as it travelled eastbound along the M5 Motorway through local streets in Alexandria, Zetland, Centennial Park, Randwick and Bondi Junction. Police allege the Mazda was dumped inside the Bondi Junction Railway Station bus interchange around 11.20pm, where the occupants fled the car onto the train platform. Plain-clothed officers spotted the teens and chased them on foot, with the teens soon arrested and taken to the Surry Hills Police Station. READ MORE: After 540 days, Valerie the missing dachshund reunited with her owners The 17-year-old driver was charged with two counts police pursuit - not stop - drive dangerously, class A motor vehicle exceed speed more than 45km/h, be carried in conveyance taken without consent of owner, never licensed person drive vehicle on road, goods in custody suspected being stolen and receive property stolen outside NSW. The passengers were charged with carried in conveyance taken without consent of owner. They will appear before the Children's Court on May 9. Four teenagers have been denied bail after police hunted an allegedly stolen car from the southwest to the eastern suburbs of Sydney. Two 14-year-old boys and two girls, 12 and 17, were charged after an extensive police chase by air, road and foot patrols. The car chase began around 10.30am on May 8 when police attempted to stop a white Mazda CX3 on the Hume Highway at Edmondson Park, which police said was reportedly stolen the day before. NSW Police said the driver allegedly failed to stop as directed and they then initiated a highway pursuit. The chase was terminated along the M5 Motorway towards the M7 at Prospect over safety concerns, according to police. Polair assisted in tracking the car as it travelled along the M5 Motorway at Milperra where the ground police re-engaged. Items were allegedly thrown from the car towards police, so they abandoned the chase again. The car continued to be tracked as it travelled eastbound along the M5 Motorway through local streets in Alexandria, Zetland, Centennial Park, Randwick and Bondi Junction. Police allege the Mazda was dumped inside the Bondi Junction Railway Station bus interchange around 11.20pm, where the occupants fled the car onto the train platform. Plain-clothed officers spotted the teens and chased them on foot, with the teens soon arrested and taken to the Surry Hills Police Station. READ MORE: After 540 days, Valerie the missing dachshund reunited with her owners The 17-year-old driver was charged with two counts police pursuit - not stop - drive dangerously, class A motor vehicle exceed speed more than 45km/h, be carried in conveyance taken without consent of owner, never licensed person drive vehicle on road, goods in custody suspected being stolen and receive property stolen outside NSW. The passengers were charged with carried in conveyance taken without consent of owner. They will appear before the Children's Court on May 9.
Sydney Morning Herald
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
WA news LIVE: Teen due in court today over North Beach ‘ride outs'
Latest posts Latest posts 9.30am Teen due in court today over North Beach 'ride outs' A 17-year-old boy is due to face Children's Court today as police begin to clamp down on a group of teenage 'bike bandits' causing terror in Perth's northern coastal suburbs. The group has been holding regular 'ride outs' with dozens of riders allegedly weaving in and out of traffic and performing dangerous stunts on their bikes and scooters around the North Beach area. Watch 9 News Perth's story on the police operation below: 9.30am Across the nation and around the world Here's what's making headlines across the nation and around the world: State governments will be offered $2 billion over the next four years to boost housing supply with the help of federal concessional loans in a Labor pledge to counter Coalition claims that the government will miss a crucial target to build more homes. If you're rolling up your sleeves for a flu or COVID vaccine this season, you may not give much thought to which arm ultimately receives the jab. Property buyers could have made a 70 per cent capital gain in five years if they bought at the start of last decade's boom in Sydney or Melbourne but would have been unable to repeat that level of growth since. A group of men dubbed the 'grandpa gang' were among 10 suspects who went on trial on Monday on charges of robbing reality TV star Kim Kardashian at gunpoint and stealing jewellery worth millions of dollars during Paris Fashion Week in 2016. A blackout has brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill, halting trains, grounding flights, cutting phone services and shutting down traffic lights and ATMs for millions of people across the Iberian Peninsula. 9.30am Today's weather 9.30am This morning in Perth Good morning readers, and welcome to our live news blog for Tuesday, April 29. Well, have you noticed an uptick in political ads on your social media feeds? Maybe some fire memes from the young marketing gurus at Labor? Or some gritty warnings of another three years under Albanese from the Liberal crowd? In fact, an analysis of election ad spending on the Meta ad library – which covers social media spending on both Facebook and Instagram – shows your more likely to have come across an independent candidate's ad. And it turns out Curtin teal independent Kate Chaney is the biggest individual spender in the state. Hamish Hastie has the full story. You can read all about it here. But all of that is not news to those who have been keeping a keen eye on the independents since Labor's Simone McGurk nearly lost her 'safe' seat of Fremantle to local business owner Kate Hulett in March. Hulett's back for another swing at politics, this time in the federal arena. Mark Naglazas has taken a closer look at how she, and other independents, have leveraged social media – and what the driving force behind their success online has been. And finally, property is rarely far from the headlines these days, but one pundit reckons we're focusing on the wrong side of the issue. James Limnios reckons voters would be stunned to know governments have raked in a staggering $45.1 billion in property taxes, up 80 per cent in just a decade. The managing director of Limnios Property Group said the current housing crisis had its root cause in governments gouging the property sector with higher taxes with fresh ABS data showing property taxes collected by just local and state governments had surged by $20 billion. Limnios said demand was set to surge even higher off the back of housing policies released by both major political parties during the election.
Sky News AU
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Victorian Liberals demand answers as Allan government confirms electronic monitoring trial will see youth criminals placed in schools
The Victorian opposition is demanding answers after the Allan government confirmed its electronic monitoring trial would allow youth offenders to be placed in government schools. From Tuesday, Victorian courts will be able to impose new bail supervision requirements on up to 50 youth offenders charged with serious offences as a part of a two-year trial. Youth offenders aged between 14 and 18 will be eligible for the trial, with both the Children's Court and the Supreme Court able to mandate they wear tamper-proof ankle bracelets that will enable the Department of Justice and Community Safety to track their movements in real time. 'They will be subject to electronic monitoring, but it will also be combined with intensive supervision and support for those young offenders to make sure that they are best equipped to comply with their bail plan and their bail conditions,' Attorney General Sonya Kilkenny told reporters. Victoria's Youth Justice Commissioner, Andrea Davidson, said case managers would work proactively with families, the Department of Education, Victoria Police and support services. They will also work with the offenders to ensure support services are tailored to their individual needs – such as health-related services, counselling, employment, and connection to groups which provide mentoring and support through lived experience. 'We're committed to providing the best possible outcomes for young people in Victoria using an evidence-based understanding of what works to address offending behaviour and divert young people away from the community justice system,' Ms Davidson said. But Ms Kilkenny also confirmed the youth offenders could be placed in one of 57 'alternative education settings' in metropolitan Melbourne – which include government schools. This is despite Deputy Premier and Education Minister Ben Carroll last month rejecting a proposal to see youth offenders placed in mainstream schools, describing it as 'wrong on so many levels'. 'It's not appropriate for kids wearing ankle bracelets to be in mainstream school settings,' Mr Carroll said. Under the trial now in effect, the Department of Education will make the final call on the most appropriate education setting for the youth offenders, while the Department of Justice and Community Safety will work with school leadership to 'maintain the safety of other students and staff'. 'I think it is really important to recognise too that for young people, one of the important protective factors is certainly education and linking young offenders back into an educational setting,' Attorney General Kilkenny said. The confirmation that offenders could be attending state schools prompted questions from the Victorian opposition, with Deputy Liberal leader Sam Groth stating that parents want their kids' teachers focused on teaching. 'They want to make sure their kids are getting the best education delivered by a teacher who is focused on teaching their kids, not focused on having to worry about the children's safety when it comes to these youth offenders,' he said. But when asked how the Coalition would manage the reintegration of young offenders into society, Mr Groth appeared to soften his stance. 'Look, first and foremost, is about community safety… but we also want to make sure that those youth offenders are able to reintegrate,' he said. Mr Groth suggested youth offenders could be educated through programs in youth detention centres or online, and that if the government wanted to put youth offenders in schools they needed to show 'some evidence' supporting the plan. 'If the best decision is to put these youth offenders wearing ankle bracelets into a government school, then show us that evidence – because this trial has happened in other places around the world,' he said. 'There is no silver bullet when it comes to this issue. But we've got to make sure we're putting all of those people in the community who are law-abiding citizens at the front and foremost of all the decisions that we make.'
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Yahoo
Teen allegedly boarded flight armed
A teenage boy has been charged after he allegedly tried to board a commercial flight while armed with a teenager, 17, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in a Children's Court shortly before midday on Friday on eight charges including unlawfully taking control of an aircraft. Wearing a white button up and black dress pants during the three-minute hearing, the boy spoke only to confirm he understood he would be remanded into custody and that he did not have any questions. 'No I do not,' he said, before being led from the courtroom. He will return to court at a later date. The incident allegedly unfolded at Avalon Airport — Melbourne's secondary airport which is used mainly for domestic Jetstar flights - at about 2.20pm on Thursday. Police were called to the airport after reports a 17-year-old had allegedly entered the commercial flight with a firearm. The teenager was allegedly tackled and detained by the pilot and passengers, including a shearer from Echuca, who claimed the boy was dressed as a worker. After the 17-year-old was detained, police allegedly found two bags and a vehicle belonging to the teenager. 'The Bomb Response Unit were called to assist with the bags as a safety precaution,' a police statement read. The 17-year-old Ballarat boy was arrested and has since been charged with several offences. They include unlawfully taking control of an aircraft, endangering safe operation of an aircraft, endangering safety of an aircraft, dangerous goods on an aircraft, threat to the safety of an aircraft, bomb hoax, possess firearm and traffic-related Avalon Airport was closed following the incident but has since reopened, with a statement released late on Thursday evening revealing updates to the facility's safety precautions. 'As part of our ongoing commitment to security, we have implemented further measures across the airport, including within the terminal and surrounding areas,' the statement read. 'We continue to work closely with authorities to ensure a safe and secure environment for all travellers. 'We appreciate the patience and cooperation of our passengers and staff.' Barry Clark, a shearer from Echuca, who was sitting at the front of the JQ610 flight to Sydney, was one of the passengers who helped detain the boy. Clark told The Project the boy was the last person to approach the flight attendant after everyone had boarded the plane. He claimed he heard the teenager become agitated when he was asked to produce paperwork so he could carry out the work he said he needed to do. 'He got more agitated and more agitated, I looked up and within a second I saw a barrel of a shotgun and I thought to myself, 'That ain't a tool that should be on a plane,'' he said. Barry Cable, a passenger on the flight that a gunman allegedly attempted to board with a gun, spoke out about his experience. Mr Clark told ABC Radio Melbourne he first noticed the young man dressed up as a worker when he realised the airline staff were questioning him. Mr Clark claimed the alleged gunman had 'other apparatus on him so I didn't know what his full intention was.' Asked what was going through his mind when he tackled the young man, Mr Clark said: 'You don't think, you act.' 'I've been taught from a boy to be responsible and look after others and we're a sporting family so I was quietly confident I could handle him.' The 17-year-old was wearing a hi-vis jacket over a black suit, with a tool belt. The pilot emptied the tools from the belt while the boy was being detained. An airline attendant could be seen taking what appeared to be a gun off the plane. Passengers had boarded the plane via the tarmac. Initial reports on Thursday afternoon suggested a person wearing a hi-vis vest got onto the the plane without passing through security, claiming he needed to do maintenance. Police believe the teen from Ballarat managed to get onto the tarmac after breaching a security fence. A police spokesman said on Thursday that there was no ongoing threat to the community. 'We were all boarded, I was last on, sat in my chair, heard a kerfuffle and saw the pilot and this other guy tackling this young boy in a high-vis vest,' Woodrow told the ABC. 'In a split second, the gentleman Barry Clark in 1C saw him and jumped him, tackled him and got him in a choke lock, disarmed him. 'Pilot jumped in too, myself and another gentleman come up to support and hold him down.' A Jetstar spokesperson confirmed flights are operating as scheduled at Avalon Airport on Friday. 'We are working with police and airport authorities as they investigate a security incident at Avalon Airport yesterday,' the spokesperson told NewsWire. 'The safety of our passengers and crew is our number one priority and we can confirm there were no reported injuries. 'We know this would have been a very distressing situation and we are sincerely grateful to the customers who assisted our crew to safely manage the situation.'
