GoFundMe set up to raise money for a 7-year-old girl kidnapped from Kmart by Sterling Free
A fundraising account has been set in to raise money for the future treatment for trauma of a girl abducted from a southeast Queensland shopping centre.
QLD News
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A FAMILY member of a 7-year-old girl abducted from a Brisbane shopping centre by Sterling Free has launched a fundraising campaign for the child’s future treatment.
The woman wrote on the online GoFundMe account that the child now has a “lifetime of recovery from trauma” ahead of her.
“I am a family member of the innocent little 7 year old girl abducted from Kmart in Northlakes QLD on 8 Dec 2018 (sic),” she wrote on the GoFundMe online account, titled ‘Future fund – Kmart kidnapping victim.’
“She was stalked and lured away from her mum and driven to bush land and sexually assaulted.
“The sentence the perpetrator received was highly inadequate and showed little regard for the little girl’s wellbeing, now and in the future.”
The fundraising account has a target of $20,000, which, the woman wrote, would be held in a trust account.
“I am asking for help to make sure she gets all of the assistance she needs in the future, whatever those needs may be,” she said.
“This beautiful, tiny girl has a lifetime of recovery from trauma ahead of her and deserves to be compensated for her ordeal.
“The funds raised from this campaign will be held in a trust account so that she may access when needed over the coming years.”
Free, 27, was sentenced in the Brisbane District Court on October 10 for kidnapping the girl from Kmart at Westfield North Lakes in December, driving her to an isolated spot and indecently assaulting her.
He drove the child back to the centre about an hour later.
A father of two girls, Free pleaded guilty to taking the child for an immoral purpose, deprivation of liberty, and indecent treatment of a child under 12.
He was sentenced to eight years prison, but after serving 306 days on remand, Brisbane District Court Judge Julie Dick set Free’s parole eligibility date as August, 2021, less than two years from now.
The girl’s mother previously said her daughter was aware of stranger danger, but Free had tricked her into following him.
A spokesman for the Attorney-General said prosecutors had up to a month to decide if an appeal had a reasonable chance of success.
Parole Board Queensland will be tasked with deciding if Free should be released if he makes an application for parole when he becomes eligible.
Outside court on Thursday, Free’s lawyer Shaune Irving read an apology letter from his client.
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