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Herald Sun
16 hours ago
- Herald Sun
Brutal torture videos being shared among Melbourne youth gangs
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News. Extreme acts of torture are being filmed and broadcast online in warning and revenge acts against Victorian youth gang members and their affiliates. The Herald Sun has seen a number of violent and gruesome acts of torture against Melbourne teenagers — such as forcing them to eat their own waste and slashing them with machetes — in what is becoming another alarming element of local street gangs. A teenage boy was recently forced to consume his own faeces in an online video that continues to circulate on social media. The boy, appearing on a group video call, was ordered to reach into the toilet and pick up what was left in the bowl. 'Hurry up, eat your s---. Pick it up,' the person barking orders was heard saying. 'Now show your face, turn your camera on. Now eat it, put it all in your mouth. 'More.' Another person on the group call was heard laughing while another said it was 'dirty'. It is unclear what that act relates to but it is one of the more confronting and grim demands made among criminals of any level. In another vile online clip, a young person has backed into the corner of a room and had their legs repeatedly slashed with a huge serrated knife. The boy filming that was heard barking orders at the unarmed and defenceless victim. 'Say sorry right now. Take your shoes off right now, take your shoes off right now, right now,' the boy filming yelled. 'Say 'I'm A—'s bitch'. You ain't going nowhere.' The victim was also heard yelling 'I'm sorry, please' over and over again. It is believed that torture clip was in response to the victim moving drugs to the relative of the person filming. Another boy was forced to sit on the floor of a playground as a huge knife was held to his face before a pair of armed thugs attacked him moments later. The shirtless and bleeding teen then had two machetes repeatedly swung at his legs as he pleaded for the two thugs to drop their weapons. The Herald Sun understands the victim in that video had possibly previously expressed his intentions to assault those affiliated with the person filming. That too was a daylight and public attack filmed and posted online. Another boy was also gang-bashed and stabbed by a group of thugs all armed with machetes in a vicious street attack posted online in March. The defenceless boy, who was pleading with his attackers to stop, was filmed being slashed with a machete after he was relentlessly punched and kicked in the head several times. His iPhone was then nicked from the footpath he was laying on. It is understood the torture sessions are filmed and shared online to warn others of the consequences of speaking ill of a rival youth gang or their members. Those online videos are then shared by fellow gang members and wild youth offenders which only multiplies the amount of views each clip receives. Victims also often feel discouraged to contact police out of fear of further bloody retribution. Victoria Police declined to comment. The Herald Sun in March revealed sadistic torture sessions were being filmed and distributed within Melbourne's volatile gangland scene. One man's ear was sliced off with an angle grinder in one of the more hardcore instances of torture seen among any crime circles. Hardcore teens run wild as youth crime surges
Herald Sun
21-05-2025
- Herald Sun
Victoria's first child fitted with ankle bracelet ‘pretty happy' with his new device
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News. The 15-year-old, who cannot be legally named, walked free from court on Wednesday after spending the past three months in a youth jail. He is the first of 50 of the state's incorrigible underage criminals to agree to be fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet under a controversial new trial. The new bail legislation, passed by the Allan government to counter the state's youth crime problem, allows children aged 14 to 18 to be fitted with an ankle bracelet on the condition they agree to wearing the device. Magistrate Gail Hubble court ordered the boy to be assessed for an electronic device a fortnight ago. Court staff placed the tracking device on his left ankle in the holding cells of a children's court before he was released to his mother on Wednesday morning. His mother, who also cannot be legally identified, told the Herald Sun her son was 'quite happy' to be released with the tracking device. She said he would rather be fitted with the device than return to Parkville for a further stint behind bars. 'He was pretty happy to be out,' she said. 'The minute he was out, he was on the phone to his mates.' The boy's mother said the device offered some sort of security for her and the community. She said she has planned to take her son to the movies and to get a haircut in the coming days. He still has several appointments and behavioural programs scheduled in the coming days. 'I'm happy with it, I'm happy if it's on for two weeks and I'll be happy if it's on for longer,' she added. 'At least I know he's going to be around.' The device will notify youth justice staff instantly if he does not abide by his 8pm to 6am curfew. It can notify staff that he is an 'imminent danger' if he breaches his strict bail conditions. They will also be notified instantly if he attempts to tamper with the device. They are then expected to call triple-0 and report his current location. The teen has been prosecuted over a plethora of aggravated burglaries, car thefts and home invasions. He will be formally sentenced in early June. It is expected two more youths who have been assessed for the trial will face court on Thursday.
Mercury
18-05-2025
- Mercury
Bailey Seabourne was killed in accident when his friend was speeding and driving recklessly
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News. A Tasmanian teenager was killed when he was thrown from a vehicle driven by a friend that was speeding and driven 'in a foolhardy and reckless manner', a Coroner has found. Bailey Matthew Grant Seabourne was 16 when he died in the accident at Wesley Vale in the state's North-West on May 9, 2022. He was a backseat passenger in a Nissan Navara utility that was driven by Seth Brown, a novice driver licensed at P1 level. Ms Mackey said in the hours before the accident Mr Brown had been driving around Devonport with four passengers when his licence restricted him to driving with just one peer passenger aged between 16 and 21. 'At times he was speeding, performing burnouts and drifting in suburban streets and around public playgrounds and carparks,' she said. 'The manner of his driving posed a significant risk to himself, those present in his vehicle as well as to the public generally.' Ms Mackey said Mr Brown made three stops before the accident and it was 'surprising' given his driving that the passengers remained in the ute. 'The decision making of Brown as driver of the vehicle and of his passengers who remained when they were aware of the risks he was taking with his driving is indicative of a lack of common sense and maturity of those present and endorses the sense behind the P1 restriction for peer passengers,' she said. Evidence had been given from police, other motorists and passengers that the vehicle was speeding with the digital speedometer recording 127km/h before the accident on Mill Road near the turnoff to Devonport Airport. Mr Brown lost control and the vehicle flipped. Ms Mackey said Bailey was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected onto the roadway during the accident. 'He landed on the roadway a distance of 7.8m from the resting place of the vehicle,' she said. 'Bailey's seatbelt was twisted in the buckle and jammed and could not be extended to meet the receiving end. 'The seatbelt was unable to be tested after the accident due to the damage sustained to the vehicle.' Drugs or alcohol were not contributing factors to the accident and Ms Mackey extended her 'sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Bailey'. As a result of the accident, Mr Brown pleaded guilty and was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving and dangerous driving and was sentenced to two years imprisonment and disqualified from driving for three years 'Couldn't get a hold of him': Heartbreaking fatal revelation
Courier-Mail
28-04-2025
- Courier-Mail
Kippa Ring man charged with drug, child exploitation offences
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News. A 31-year-old Redcliffe man has been charged with 28 drug and child exploitation offences, with two of his alleged victims identified as living in southeast Queensland. Officers from the Redcliffe Child Protection Investigation kicked off Operation Xray Cato after police received a tip-off in October 2024. They executed a search warrant on a Kippa Ring home on December 7, where they seized several digital devices and arrested a 31-year-old man. The man was charged the next day with three counts of possessing child exploitation material and one count of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence, but was hit with charges for 24 more alleged offences after police allegedly found child exploitation material featuring a number of unidentified child victims. The charges include six counts of supplying dangerous drugs, five counts of using internet to procure children under 16, four counts of grooming child under 16 years or parent or carer of child under 16 years – facilitate procurement of child to engage in sexual act, four counts of indecent treatment of child under 12 with impairment of the mind, two counts of distributing child exploitation material and one count each of contravening order about information necessary to access information stored electronically, possessing child exploitation material and using internet to procure children under 12. He has been remanded in custody and is due to reappear in Redcliffe Magistrates Court on May 1. Investigating officers, working with Taskforce Argos victim identification specialists, have identified two alleged victims in southeast Queensland, and are providing support. Two alleged victims were also found in the Philippines, with Australian Federal Police representatives working with the Philippine National Police to locate and rescue them, along with three others. Five children, four girls and one boy, were rescued by the PNP on February 20, 2025. Investigations into their situations will continue locally under the PNP.
Herald Sun
23-04-2025
- Herald Sun
Accused St Kilda drug trafficker arrested in pre-dawn raid
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News. An alleged drug trafficker accused of selling potentially 'deadly' gear to vulnerable locals has been arrested during a pre-dawn raid at his St Kilda apartment. Police allege the hooded man had been trafficking large quantities of 1,4-Butanediol, a liquid substance which has commonly been used as a 'date rape' drug. The Herald Sun was there when officers swooped on his Barkly St apartment as part of an ongoing police sting targeting those buying and selling the drug in the St Kilda area. The handcuffed 26-year-old was tossed into a police vehicle as officers hauled several bags of evidence — including about 500mL of 1-4 Butanediol — into waiting vehicles. The drug, commonly referred to as 'drinks', 'bute' or 'one four', is taken in liquid form and slows down vital cognitive functions of the body which can cause users to lose consciousness. It holds a street value of up to $30 per millilitre and can be purchased in bulk for as little as $2000 per litre. Police on Wednesday morning also allegedly uncovered quantities of meth, cannabis, MDMA and other pills, largely stored in the St Kilda man's study. The gear seized held an estimated street value of more than $16,000. Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Scott Ishac said the emergence of 1-4 Butanediol in the St Kilda area was a serious concern for police given the potentially critical side effects. Sen Sgt Ishac said the hooded man's arrest was a major win, particularly for vulnerable members of the community. 'Given his location is quite close to the St Kilda night-life precinct is quite concerning to us. He is definitely someone we'd like to get off the streets,' he said. 'We're finding that a lot of the people who are trafficking this drug of dependence are buying it by the litre and in larger quantities to then on sell. 'It's quite dangerous if you do consume it … if you consume more, not thinking that the effects have taken place, that's when it can be quite deadly.' The hooded 26-year-old was on Wednesday afternoon charged with trafficking 1,4-Butanediol, methylamphetamine and cannabis. He was also charged over his alleged possession of several drugs of dependence, possessing Schedule 4 poisons, and knowingly deal with proceeds of crime. He was bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on June 30. Another man, 29, was arrested at the unit and has since been charged with possessing cannabis. The arrests formed part of a major police operation where they seized more than $130,000 worth of drugs between September last year and March this year in St Kilda alone. Force intelligence suggests 'bute' accounted for about $100,000 of that figure after more than 33L of the drug was eliminated. Nearly 100 people allegedly involved in the drug trade were arrested in St Kilda last year as part of the ongoing operation targeting users and sellers on Acland, Carlisle and Fitzroy streets. Hospital carjacking leaves woman fighting for life
