Burnett mother sentenced for abandoning naked 14-year-old daughter on rural road

A South Burnett mother subjected her daughter to a cruel and degrading punishment when she beat her and then stripped the 14-year-old girl naked and abandoned her on the side of the road alone.

A mother has avoided jail after a horrific attack on her teenage daughter, where the girl was beaten, stripped to her underwear and left on the side of a South Burnett road.

The mother, who cannot be named to protect her daughter’s identity, was driving on Kingaroy-Cooyar Rd on January 29, 2021, with her 14-year-old daughter and two younger children in the vehicle.

After an argument with the girl, the mother stopped the car and demanded the teen get out.

The young girl then fled to a nearby house and knocked on the door before running to the back of the house to hide.

The mother chased and tackled the girl, before dragging her back to the car and continuing to drive.

During court proceedings it was heard the tensions continued, with the mother at one point striking the teen multiple times with the back of her hand.

The woman then stopped the car, told the girl to get out, stripped her naked except for her bra and told her she “never wanted to see her again”.

The mother then left the girl on the side of the road and the teenager cried and hid in the bushes.

An off-duty police officer found the girl minutes later.

The mother pleaded guilty in the Kingaroy District Court to two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and one count of child cruelty.

Judge Gary Long QC said in his sentencing remarks the act of stripping the teen was “clearly designed to humiliate and degrade her”.

The mother admitted to her crimes when speaking to police, describing it as a “brain snap”.

She claims she only drove 800m up the road before she returned but said she was unable to find her daughter.

Judge Long said “deserting” the teen in such a vulnerable situation was unacceptable.

“It does you no credit that you were prepared to do that, even if only for a limited period of time,” Judge Long said.

The mother was placed on probation for two years.