Andrew Derwent Ede sentenced for vigilante attack

A Sunshine Coast father helped snatch a 16-year-old teenager from a train station before he was held at knifepoint in a vigilante attack. Read why:

A 16-year-old teenager who rode in a stolen car was snatched from a train station and held at knifepoint on a forest road in a vigilante attack, a court has heard.

Andrew Derwent Ede, 38, was placed on a six-month suspended prison sentence on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to one count of deprivation of liberty on October 14, 2020.

Police prosecutions officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant David Bradley told the court Ede and an alleged co-offender grabbed a 16-year-old boy from the Landsborough Train Station and forced him into their car about 5.30pm.

Sergeant Bradley said the pair took the child down an unknown forestry road where the alleged co-offender held a knife to the child’s left ear and throat before cutting a section of his hair.

“The complainant child’s right hand was resting on the back of the ute tray … (when the alleged co-offender) used the knife to hold it against his thumb as though to cut it,” Sergeant Bradley said.

During the “terrifying” experience Ede was standing close to the child with crossed arms asking about people involved in a car theft three weeks prior.

The child, who told police he saw a firearm in the car, said he was a passenger in the stolen car three weeks prior to the incident, but he had no involvement apart from a 45-minute ride.

Ede also made comments about the child’s Tommy Hilfiger jacket before the alleged co-offender slashed it with the knife.

The court heard the pair marched the child up to the front door of the owner of the stolen car but the owner wasn’t home at the time.

Sergeant Bradley described the almost hour long ordeal as “vigilantism”.

“Taking a child from a public street, in a public place to extract a level of community justice in our view is abhorrent …,” he said.

“This behaviour of taking children in a vigilante way has never been condoned in Australian society …”

He said the ordeal would have been “terrifying” and asked for a 12-month sentence to serve one third.

Sergeant Bradley noted Ede wasn’t the primary offender but said he was there the entire time.

Solicitor Anna Smith said Ede wasn’t the main offender and his involvement was at the lower end of the scale.

Andrew Derwent Ede was placed on a suspended prison sentence on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to one count of deprivation of liberty on October 14, 2020. Picture: Social media

Ms Smith said the single father of two happened to be with the alleged co-offender when he spotted the child and decided to speak with him about a friend’s stolen car.

“Mr Ede is essentially providing a presence, creating an environment with the alleged co-defendant where the complainant felt he couldn’t leave hence the charge,” she said.

“Your honour is not sentencing him (Ede) on anything violent towards the complainant...”

She noted the child was never tied up or restrained in a room and was seated in the back seat of the car.

“They even drove through the bottle-o with the windows down during the duration of this deprivation of liberty,” she said.

“I accept the complainant child might have been scared but he didn’t draw attention to himself either.”

Ms Smith said Ede had a dated criminal history and described the offence as a spontaneous “brain snap”.

She said given Ede’s plea of guilty a fine and no conviction could be imposed.

Ms Smith said a conviction would impact the father’s future employment prospects and his social wellbeing.

“Recording a conviction would be punishing him well into the future, well beyond what the criminality of the offending warrants,” she said.

Magistrate Raelene Ellis noted while Ede was not the primary offender he was involved.

Ms Ellis said the “hard worker” was largely a law-abiding citizen but said a message needed to be sent to the community that his behaviour was not acceptable.

“Vigilante acts are not justified and not to be resorted to especially where the victim is a child,” she said.

She said actual imprisonment would risk Ede’s employment and would be more onerous given Covid-19.

Given Ede’s limited history and co-operation Ms Ellis suspended his six-month prison sentence for 12 months.

A conviction was recorded.