Townsville teen pleads guilty to wounding over Mackay scissor stabbing attack

A 14-year-old girl lashed out at her sister’s boyfriend, stabbing him with a pair of scissors after he levelled a vile insult at her sibling.

A 15-year-old girl pleaded guilty to wounding after she stabbed her sister’s boyfriend in the shoulder with a pair of scissors.

A teen girl angrily lashed out at her sister’s boyfriend, plunging a pair of scissors into his shoulder in a stabbing attack sparked when her victim called her sibling “a pedo like your dad”.

She was only 14 at the time and had been living in Mackay when the incident occurred on March 31, 2024.

The man had been drinking, celebrating his birthday, which had led to “bickering” between him and the teen’s sister, Childrens Court of Queensland heard.

Crown Prosecutor Monique Sheppard said the teen’s sister confirmed this, saying she and her partner “were just giving each other sh-t”.

About 4am the sister threw her boyfriend’s clothes out on the floor, prompting further bickering with the man telling called her “a pedo life your dad”.

Ms Sheppard this deeply upset the teen, who lunged at the man and grabbed his throat with one hand before she was pulled off him.

She walked to her bedroom where she grabbed a pair of scissors and returned, stabbing the man in the left shoulder.

Photos of the scissors and wound were tendered to the court and Ms Sheppard said the puncture wound was easily treated at Mackay Base Hospital.

“It’s serious offending in that she’s reacted extremely poorly, arming herself with a pair of scissors,” Ms Sheppard said, adding the now 15 year old had no criminal history and had not offended since.

She submitted for six month probation and did not push for a conviction.

The teen, who appeared via videolink from Townsville where she now lived, pleaded guilty to wounding.
Defence barrister Scott McLennan said the teen was in school and wanted to work in childcare, agreeing with the crown’s proposed penalty.

Mr McLennan further explained the boyfriend had made the comment “you’re probably a rapist like your father” to the teen’s older sister, adding it struck home because the dad had been convicted of child sexual offending against one of his children.

Mr McLennan said his client had been very upset by this comment, “She’s grabbed the scissors and committed a wounding offence.”

The court heard the teen and her sister’s partner were back on speaking terms and their relationship had been repaired.

Mr McLennan said while in Mackay the teen had met someone who had been a bad influence on her, and she had been drinking that night and had poor supervision.

“It’s a very serious offence. The courts always take a very dim view of wounding offences because they invariably involve the use of a weapon and … if someone stabs someone else there’s a good chance that they might strike them in the wrong part of the body and they could kill them,” Judge Gregory Lynham told the teen.

“Weapons are dangerous at the best of time.”

Judge Lynham accepted the teen would have been frustrated on the night and said “you’ve overreacted but you’ve got a little but more mature now” and in future he urged her to walk away.

Judge Lynham also accepted the teen was “still a young woman not burdened by any criminal history whatsoever” and said she should be proud to be back in school and working towards a good future.

She was placed on six months probation and a conviction was not recorded.