Teen avoids conviction for 'ferocious' shopping centre bashing that left boy unconscious
A 16-year-old boy responsible for two "ferocious" attacks, including a shopping centre bashing where he believed he had killed the young victim, has been spared a conviction.
A young boy took part in a “ferocious” bashing at a popular shopping centre which left a teen unconscious and in a pool of blood.
The assault came only a month before he was involved in what a judge described as a “vigilante” attack on a 28-year-old man who was robbed at a public toilet.
The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in Mackay District Court charged with one count each of assault occasioning bodily harm while in company and robbery in company with personal violence.
The court heard that on February 6, the young boy, accompanied by a 14-year-old friend who was also charged with assault occasioning bodily harm, pounced on another youth in the Mackay Caneland Shopping Centre and began to beat the boy while he was on the ground.
In a report tended to the court, the older offender admitted to having beat the boy so hard he thought he had killed him before he fled the scene.
The victim was taken to Mackay Base Hospital with swelling around his eye, a break below his forehead and abrasions to his elbows.
“For some time, he reported he was still having difficulties being able to see out of his left eye,” Judge Philip McCarthy said.
“He really did nothing to deserve you boys attacking him like you did”.
The attacks were caught on CCTV footage and filmed by members of the group.
On another occasion, the older boy helped rob a man’s bag which contained his phone, wallet and $900 cash outside a public toilet after they alleged he tried to go home with a 16-year-old girl.
Judge McCarthy called the attack “ferocious” in nature in which he “tried to take the law in your own hands”.
The 16-year-old Mackay boy was then taken into custody where he spent 131 days behind bars, 18 of which were in the Mackay watch-house where he spent the majority of the time among adult detainees.
Child safety records revealed both the 16-year-old and 14-year-old were exposed to domestic violence and substance abuse from a very young age but were strong school students up until the offending took place.
Referencing a 2019 high court case, McCarthy said “a background of that kind may compromise the person’s capacity to mature and learn from experience”.
Judge McCarthy took into account the seriousness of the offending while also acknowledging both the offenders’ remorse and actions taken to rehabilitate.
They were both given 12 months' probation and no convictions recorded.
