‘Thought he was going to die’: Boy allegedly bashed with golf club by another kid

The parents of a young NSW boy have called for action after their son was allegedly brutally attacked with a golf club by another child.

The parents of a five-year-old boy have called for action after their son was allegedly brutally attacked with a golf club by another kid.

William Brooks-Chiplin had been playing in the front yard of a friend’s house in Tamworth, NSW last Thursday when a 10-year-old child allegedly attacked him.

William was repeatedly hit, his parents told 7NEWS, rendering him unable to move his jaw and his face extremely swollen.

“My thought was he was going to die. No kid should ever experience that,” his mum, Marrissa Tisdell, told the network in a segment on Monday night.

His father, Kayleb Brooks, echoed the sentiment.

“The people who came out and saw it thought he was gone,” Mr Brooks said.

“He didn’t make a sound, and he wasn’t moving.”

The parents of a five-year-old boy in NSW have called for action after their son was allegedly brutally attacked with a golf club by another kid. Picture: 7NEWS

William Brooks-Chiplin had been playing in the front yard of a friend’s house in Tamworth last Thursday when a 10-year-old child allegedly attacked him. Picture: 7NEWS

NSW Police said they had identified the child accused of hitting William, and had issued him a warning under the Young Offenders Act.

For children aged between 10 and 14, the act is designed to provide an alternative process to court proceedings for those accused of crimes.

Figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) last year revealed that in the 12 months to December 2022, almost 3000 children aged under 14 were “proceeded against by police” – meaning they’d had interactions with officers. In the same period, 1115 children had matters go to court, 1647 were cautioned and 188 were referred to a youth justice conference.

William with his father, Kayleb Brooks. Picture: 7NEWS

William’s parents, however, argued the consequences for their son’s alleged attacker did not go far enough, and called on the NSW Government to lower the age of criminal responsibility.

“(It) is unfair, because in the meantime (William) is suffering and nothing is being done about it,” Mr Brooks said.

Ms Tisdell compared the Young Offenders Act warning to “pretty much just … a caution”.

‘My thought was he was going to die. No kid should ever experience that.’ Picture: 7NEWS

Legal and medical experts have increasingly warned against amending the age of criminal responsibility, a topic of contention across the nation in recent months. In most Australian jurisdictions, children as young as 10 can be charged, convicted and incarcerated.

Legal and medical experts have increasingly warned against amending the age of criminal responsibility; earlier this month, National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollands wrote to leaders in the Northern Territory, urging them not to lower it from 12 to 10-years-old.

“This plan by the NT Government goes against what all the evidence has shown we need to do to achieve that. It is absolutely critical that they reconsider,” she said.

“The younger a child comes into contact with the criminal justice system, the more likely they will go on to commit more serious and violent crimes.

“Lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 10 years will not make communities safer, it will only see rates of child offending increase.

“These are primary school-age children, and harsh, punitive responses are not the answer.”

Originally published as ‘Thought he was going to die’: Boy allegedly bashed with golf club by another kid