Gympie teenager faces Children’s Court for break-ins, shoplifting

A teenage father has faced Children’s Court in Gympie on multiple charges, including trying to break into a home at night while its occupants slept, and in the company of several other intruders who were holding machetes.

A regional Qld teenager with his own young child has faced Children’s Court over a string of 24 offences, including an attempted break-in of a property while armed with a machete. Generic. Picture: iStock

A Gympie teenager has faced Children’s Court over an alleged year-long crime spree of break-ins, shoplifting and driving without a licence which ended in custody.

The youth, who cannot be identified under Queensland law, faced the court in custody on Thursday as the 24 charges were dealt with by way of guilty pleas.

The list was not read aloud in court, buty included counts of break-and-enter, attempted break-and-enter, driving without ever having held a licence, and shoplifting.

Police prosecutor Alison Johnstone said the alleged offending started in January 2023.

It continued until mid- 2024 when he was arrested and held on remand.

A Gympie teen with his own young child has faced Children’s Court over a string of 24 offences, including an attempted break-in of a property while armed with a machete. Generic. Picture: iStock

Sergeant Johnstone said one of the offences involved the teen entering a family home at night “when people were sleeping”.

“It’s a very serious offence and violates the rights of the people inside,” she said.

The court heard the attempted break-in was carried out while in the company of several others and “machetes were involved”.

It was one of several offences from the date which were “caught on CCTV footage, and the defendant was readily identified from that”.

The teen’s defence lawyer told the court the boy was himself the father of a young child.

He had come to the insight of “needing to change his pattern of behaviour so he can be better role model for his (child)”, the court heard.

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Gympie Children’s Court heard the teen, who was himself the father of a child, had already spent half of the child’s life in custody.

Magistrate Bevan Hughes sentenced the youth to 12 months’ probation, and warned he was on track to follow in the footsteps of his own father who had an “extensive” criminal history and used to “slap” and “punch” the boy.

He had not had any contact with his mother “for a while”, either.

“Children who come from those backgrounds are more likely to continue that and become that sort of parent themselves,” Mr Hughes said.

“Can you see what’s happening here?”

Mr Hughes told the youth he had already missed out on half of his child’s life while in custody.

It would only get worse if he continued to commit similar crimes in the future.

Mr Hughes said the maximum sentence for an adult guilty of break-and-enter was 14 years.

Homeowners had even started arming themselves for protection against intruders, he said.

“The community has had a gutful of this type of behaviour.”