A 14 YEAR old Tenterfield youth was given a free flight home after a District Court judge in Sydney upheld an appeal against the severity of the sentence he was given in Tenterfield Children’s Court in April.
Local magistrate Michael Holmes sentenced the young person to a 12 months jail with a non-parole period of six months for threatening a woman at an automatic teller machine in Rouse Street on January 14. The youth’s past criminal record includes stalking, obscene exposure and possessing a prohibited drug.
Since his free flight home to Tenterfield the young person has been charged with indecent assault.
Member for Northern Tablelands Richard Torbay believes that the decision made by the Campbelltown District Court judge sends out the wrong message to the community and addressed State Parliament on the issue.
“He is a known repeat offender in Tenterfield and the appeal decision of the Campbelltown District Court judge has caused grief to the victims, anger and frustration to the local police and outrage in a peaceful country town which has the reasonable expectation of safety in its streets,” Mr Torbay said.
“It also sends a message to offenders that they can get away with breaking the law. The appeal process should be reviewed.”
Tenterfield police and the victim from the January incident were unaware the youth’s conviction had been reduced to a caution and he was sent home. Mr Torbay described to parliament how the police found out about the result.
“Only a week or so ago the Tenterfield police heard that a family member of the offender had been boasting that he had beaten the charges and the Campbelltown District Court Judge had criticised the local magistrate over the severity of the sentence,” Mr Torbay said.
“Further inquiries revealed that the Department of Public Prosecutions had not informed the victim or the Tenterfield police about the outcome of the appeal. The offender had received a caution in lieu of the control order and had been given a free flight home.
“This outrageous situation shows just how out of touch some judges really are and how flawed the appeals system is on issues like this,” Mr Torbay said.
“Most crime in country areas, the figure is around 80 percent, is caused by young repeat offenders.
“I must say at this point that I am in favour of rehabilitation of young law breakers and believe that early intervention and a second chance for first offenders is essential.
“However, there is a difference between young people who have temporarily lost their way and those with a built-in contempt for the law.”
Mr Torbay told Parliament that the appeal process should be reviewed to prevent situations like this happening again. He also said the grounds for appeal need to be strengthened.
“Local communities who have to live with these hardened young criminals need to be assured that the law takes a dim view of their anti-social behaviour and that there are severe consequences, both as a deterrent and as a safety measure,” Mr Torbay concluded.
Tenterfield Police and Magistrate Michael Holmes were unable to comment on the situation.
On January 14 a Tenterfield woman had made a withdrawal from the ATM when an object that she thought was a gun was held to her head as her attacker demanded she hand over her money. The victim told police afterwards she was terrified and thought her life was in serious danger. She managed to escape to her car and then saw the offender and two accomplices trying to rob an old man who next used the ATM. She saved the man by driving her car towards the offenders tooting the horn continuously. The offenders were distracted long enough for the man to get to his car and drive away.