Teen pleads guilty in Hervey Bay District Court to grievous bodily harm

CCTV has captured the moment in broad daylight a 15-year-old boy pulled a machete out of his pants at a busy Qld tourist strip and cut a man’s arm to the bone because he “didn’t like the way he looked at him”.

CCTV captures the moment in broad daylight a 15-year-old boy pulled a machete out of his pants at a busy Qld tourist strip and cut a man’s arm to the bone because he ‘didn’t like the way he looked at him’.

A 15-year-old boy who spat at a stranger before attacking him a machete, exposing the bone on his arm, has been sentenced to two years in detention.

The teenager, who cannot be named, pleaded guilty in Hervey Bay District Court on Thursday to grievous bodily harm, going armed so as to cause fear and wilful damage.

The court heard he and three other people approached the young father in October 2024, stopping about 2m away before the teen asked the man what he was staring at.

The teen did not know the man.

The man told him to go away, but one of the other three people told the man the boy had previously “knocked out 20-year-olds”.

The teen then told the man he had “even knocked out 24-year-olds”, the court was told.

Urangan Pier, Hervey Bay, Fraser Coast, Aerial

He then asked the man if he wanted to fight, and the man again told him to go away again.

The teen then spat at the man, with the spit landing on the man’s brother and his brother’s girlfriend, after which the man called the teen a “grub”.
The man’s uncle came over and they asked what the teen’s problem was, the court heard.

He asked if they wanted a crack at him, before he pulled out the machete, which was concealed in his pants under his shorts.

The court heard two of the boy’s co-offenders were also armed with knives and one told the man the boy would stabbed him.

The boy ran towards the man with one of the co-accused, while telling the man he would be stabbed.

When he tried to back away he backed into a pole, hit his head and fell to the ground. The boy then swung the machete and struck his arm.

The laceration exposed his bone and the injury also damaged a nerve, which led to a loss of sensation to two of his fingers, the court was told.

He required two surgeries to repair the injury.

The teen took the man’s phone before leaving the scene, the court heard.

He was later found by police with the phone in his possession and at first he gave a false name.

The teen admitted what had happened to police, telling them he’d injured the man because “didn’t like the way that he looked at him”.

A 15-year-old boy who spat at a stranger before attacking him a machete, exposing the bone on his arm, has been sentenced to two years in detention.

The entire incident was captured on CCTV footage, which was played to the court by Crown prosecutor Aden Tranent.

While being taken to the watch-house, the teen attempted the carve his name on the door of the police vehicle, the court heard.

Judge Jennifer Rosengren said she heard the victim impact statement had been read to the teen.

She said a caseworker had raised concerns that all the teen had cared about was himself, that he was in detention and his freedom and choices had been taken away from him.

The caseworker had been concerned about the teen’s reaction, the court heard.

“I hope you truly understand what you have caused this young man,” Judge Rosengren said.

The impact on the victim had been devastating, and had affected every aspect of his existence, including his ability to care for his young child.

He still did not have feeling in two of his fingers, Judge Rosengren said.

In addition, it had affected his mental health, and he found it difficult to focus and relax in the wake of the incident.

He now lived in constant fear and it was “draining”, she said.

The victim had not been able to go back to work since the incident.

The court heard the boy, now 16, had a difficult childhood, witnessing drug use and domestic violence and had been intoxicated on the day of the incident.

He had been having problems with his father in the lead-up to the attack and was angry, it was told.

He had been in Hervey Bay reconnecting with friends when the offences took place.

He’d had a prejudicial background and had dropped out of school at 12.

The court heard he had told a caseworker that even if he had not been intoxicated at the time, he thought he would have made the same choice. But he had been doing well while in detention and had resumed his schooling, was participating in the army program every fortnight and one day wanted a job outdoors.

He was sentenced to two years in detention, to be released after serving half of the sentence.

No conviction was recorded.