Mother of alleged Smithfield stabbing victim lashes out at state government
A mother has spoken of the moment she was allegedly bashed by five youngsters, one of whom is accused of stabbing her daughter.
Cairns
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A mother has spoken of the moment she was allegedly bashed by a group of teens, one of whom is accused of stabbing her daughter.
Two girls, 17 and 18, were walking their dog at Rainy Mountain Park in Smithfield on July 12 when police said they were verbally abused and then assaulted by a group of teenagers in an attack that according to police “could have easily been a homicide”.
According to Detective Inspector Jason Chetham, the two girls and the group of teenagers were known to each other from the local area, but there was no established motive for the alleged incident.
One of the girls called her parentsfor help and when they arrived, the situation escalated leading to the 17 and 18-year-old’s alleged stabbing.
The 18-year-old was rushed to hospital in a critical condition with a punctured lung.
The 17-year-old suffered a stabbing wound in the bicep and was also taken to hospital.
Police arrested and charged a 15-year-old Yorkeys Knob girl with grievous bodily harm and other charges, including an earlier assault on a Sunbus driver.
The teenager was however released the next day on bail after a hearing in the Cairns Childrens Court.
The mother of the 17-year-old alleged victim said she also suffered shocking injuries.
“I actually got pushed from behind, spat in the face, knocked to the ground and I had about four to five girls kicking me in the head and the ribs, significant facial bruising and swelling,” she said.
“Aside from the knife wounds, I got beat up the most and I wasn’t even trying to be involved.”
The mother said she suffered a concussion and was advised by her doctor not to do any work that could increase strain on her brain until things started to become routine again.
She said the girls were recovering and had returned to work.
“It has been frustrating for them to know the legal system has been so relaxed on these offenders.”
Last week, the mother met with Barron River MP Craig Crawford and showed him pictures of the injuries in an effort to gather assistance and find a solution, but said she was left with “nothing”.
“He did not offer us anything to put our minds at rest — that something was in the pipeline to happen to change the laws or to toughen up on youth crime,” she said.
“I kept asking him what are the consequences for these minors.”
The mother claims the 15-year-old who was let out on bail, has breached her bail conditions again.
“She is currently in holding to go to youth detention,” she said.
“What really annoys me is she has breached her bail conditions so quickly over something a lot less significant and now she is going to youth detention. It downplays what happened to us in a sense.”
The mum said she also discussed the implementation of Jack’s Law with Mr Crawford.
In April this year, laws allowing officers to conduct stop and wand operations in all Safe Night Precincts and on public transport, known as Jack’s Law, came into effect to help combat knife crime across Queensland.
The boundaries of the SNP in Cairns cover the CBD area.
“Somebody needs a set of balls to make a hard decision without the worries of whose feelings we are hurting,” she said.
Mr Crawford said he was considering taking the case to parliament.
“There’s a number of ministers and directors general at high levels constantly looking at our laws — are they fit for purpose, are there right numbers within courts, within police — we are constantly reassessing it — it is a constantly evolving space,” Mr Crawford said.
He acknowledged the public outcry against the granting of bail to the 15-year-old charged over the “horrific incident” and said knife crime was on the rise, adding that he could not delve too deeply into why bail was granted in the case of the teen.
“We pay magistrates and judges to exercise that role but we don’t want to go down the road of mandatory sentencing — we need to give judicial authorities wiggle room but sometimes they just don’t wiggle in the right direction,” he said.
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Originally published as Mother of alleged Smithfield stabbing victim lashes out at state government
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