How 12 ex-private school students traded class rooms for court rooms
These are the shocking circumstances that led former private school students to face court for their crimes.
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A life of private education was not enough to deter this list of old boys and girls from crime and the court system.
Here are some of the shocking stories of how they descended from pupils at elite schools to criminals in our courts.
CONVICTIONS RECORDED
Anthony Dolan
The Gold Coast man was jailed after trafficking pounds of cannabis, cartons of prescription medication, ounces of MDMA and grams of coke
Ex-private schoolboy of a prestigious Brisbane college Anthony Patrick Dolan trafficked an extraordinary amount of cannabis, MDMA, cocaine and prescription medication to support his $8000-a-week coke addiction, a court heard in May this year.
The 25-year-old Tallebudgera man and a former Villanova College Coorparoo student pleaded guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court on Friday to 23 offences.
They included trafficking in dangerous drugs, 15 counts of supplying dangerous drugs, possessing more than 200g of MDMA, possessing more than 2g of cocaine, possessing more than 8kg of cannabis, and possessing prescription medication Diazepam and Alprazolam.
Dolan was arrested and charged following the execution of a police search warrant on his former Carina residence on April 5, 2019.
Police uncovered about 205g of pure MDMA in 350g of substance; 12g of pure cocaine in 40g of substance; eight-and-a-half kilograms of cannabis and hundreds of seeds; a pair of nunchucks; digital scales; $4000 cash and multiples cartons of prescription drugs.
Analysis of Dolan’s mobile phone revealed 15 drug transactions to nine customers over the previous six days, the court heard.
Justice Peter Callaghan sentenced Dolan to five years’ imprisonment, suspended after one year, for a period of five years.
He also placed Dolan on three years’ probation.
Renee Tucker
The sad descent of a former private schoolgirl has been revealed in a Caboolture court as she sat weeping from behind bars
Ex-private school girl Renee Nicole Tucker’s sad descent into homelessness, drugs and theft was revealed to a Caboolture court in February this year.
The 47-year-old Rothwell mum, sobbed with her head in her hands as Magistrate James Blanch heard of her steep decline into drug use since 2018.
Tucker, a mother of four who according to social media attended girls-only St Mary’s College in Ipswich before becoming a customer service manager at KFC, appeared via video link after spending the night in custody.
The court heard Tucker’s string of offending included multiple thefts from shops — taking more than $300 on one occasion.
The court heard homelessness and a drug habit as well as mental health problems had exacerbated her descent into crime.
She pleaded guilty to a string of charges including multiple stealing offences and possessing drugs and utensils and was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay $585.10 compensation.
Rhys David Boxall
The ex-Churchie schoolboy was caught with a ‘substantial’ amount of ice
Rhys David Boxall, 30, and his ex-girlfriend Elizabeth Jane McNamee, 26, appeared in the Brisbane Supreme Court dock together in February this year, when details of their offending were aired.
Prosecutor Brendan White said Boxall was caught in possession of 96g of methylamphetamine and almost 20g of GBL when police searched his Spring Hill unit on October 18, 2019.
The court heard McNamee was found with a “minute amount” of marijuana, just 0.097g.
Barrister Gavin Webber told the court that Boxall, a former Anglican Church Grammar School rower and rugby player, was using some of the drugs himself but conceded it was a substantial amount with a “commercial element”.
Mr Webber said Boxall was taking up to 7g of ice a day during the peak of his drug addiction, which began in his early 20s.
“Ever since then he’s been coming before the courts,” Mr Webber said.
Barrister Malcolm Harrison said McNamee had struggled with her own drug addiction, but had broken up with Boxall since the offending and re-established ties with her family.
Chief Justice Catherine Holmes said it was a “relatively minor amount” of marijuana that McNamee had pleaded guilty to possessing and sentenced her to a rising of the court – which required her to stay in the courtroom until it adjourned for the day.
Chief Justice Holmes said Boxall’s sentence was “far more complicated” because he had a more significant criminal history and was on a suspended sentence at the time police found the drugs.
Boxall pleaded guilty to possessing dangerous drugs and was sentenced to five years’ jail, to be served concurrently with his suspended sentence.
He will be eligible for parole in October, 2022.
Paul Hamstra
The man who lit several fires at his former school causing $6.65 million in damage
Paul Hamstra, who lit several fires at his former school causing $6.65 million in damage was released from jail after a snap decision in the Court of Appeal in August last year.
Hamstra, 22, was originally sentenced to three years’ jail, to serve six months, however his sentence was immediately suspended after a court of appeal ruling in August.
Hamstra walked from prison on August 26, 2020 after serving 62 days in jail for the 2016 Anzac Day fire at St Andrew’s Lutheran College which destroyed the school’s drama and hospitality block.
Hamstra, the ringleader, was 18 when he and his friends went on a “school run” to ring the bell at their former school in Tallebudgera.
Hamstra set fire to a hat and to some paperwork in one of the lockers before closing it.
The group left thinking the fire had gone out.
His co-offenders, Harrison Luke Rogers and Jackson Thomas Plass, avoided jail and were given suspended sentences after pleading guilty to arson.
Barrister Michael Copley QC argued in the Court of Appeal that Hamstra should have also received a suspended sentence.
Mr Copley said his co-offenders had been convicted of more serious charges which had “intruded” on Judge Catherine Muir’s parity considerations.
The court heard Hamstra had been a first-time offender and had “matured substantially” in the years between the crime and being sentenced.
Crown Prosecutor David Nardone said Judge Muir had been “keenly aware” of the differences between each of the young men and their offences.
He said Hamstra’s immaturity had caused “devastating consequences” for the college.
The court allowed the appeal and ordered that Judge Muir’s sentence be suspended immediately.
Ethan Alan Bennetts
Just weeks after graduating, a Churchie Old Boy has faced court for demolishing a fence while roaring drunk
Ethan Alan Bennetts, 18, was more than three times the legal alcohol limit when he crashed into the wooden fence in his Nissan Skyline about 9.30pm on October 10.
Holland Park Magistrates Court heard Bennett’s car came around a corner at speed and he lost control on a roundabout at the intersection of Scrub and Cribb roads, Carindale before hitting the fence at a nearby house.
The car was written off and Bennetts and his two passengers were taken to hospital.
The court heard Bennetts had had his licence taken off him at the time for a previous speeding offence, where he was clocked at more than 40kmh above the limit.
He recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.17, or three and a half times the allowed level, the court heard.
Bennetts pleaded guilty to five charges including driving without due care and attention, driving without a licence, driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle and driving under the influence of liquor (UIL).
Magistrate Simon Young ordered Bennetts pay a fine of $2500 and disqualified him from driving for 12 months for the UIL offence.
He also disqualified Bennetts for six months for driving while disqualified.
Convictions were recorded for the UIL and disqualified driving charges.
Shani Maureen Doig
Three-month jail term for drink driving Grammar Old Girl
Brisbane Girls Grammar School Old Girl Shani Maureen Doig was handed a three-month suspended jail sentence in November last year after blowing 0.123 and crashing her car.
It was the latest in a long string of drink driving offences for Doig, 52, and came only three months after she had finished probation for a similar charge, Holland Park Magistrates Court heard.
Police prosecutor Lauren Archer said Doig, a former schoolteacher, also had not renewed her drivers licence for 3008 days.
But her lawyer, Andy Bazzi, told the court his client was trying to turn her life around and was working on a paper on recidivist drink drivers and planned to interview 50 of them to gain insights into their offending.
Mr Bazzi said his client, who graduated from BGGS in 1985, had worked as a teacher and held a number of responsible administrative jobs including at the QUT Faculty of Law and in an internationally-renowned stem cell research centre at Griffith University.
She also founded a local branch of the Handbags For Hope charity which sources handbags from manufacturers and donates them to needy women but had suffered depression and anxiety since 1998.
The court heard Doig had a two-page criminal history for drunk and dangerous driving offences committed since 1987 and a five-page traffic history.
Magistrate Sue Ganasan sentenced Doig to three months’ prison, suspended for nine months, and disqualified her from driving for 12 months, on the charge of not having proper control of a vehicle.
She disqualified Doig for two months and fined her $500 for the charge of driving over the middle alcohol limit.
Convictions were recorded for both charges and she also convicted Doig for driving without a licence but did not impose further punishment.
Zacherie William Sharman
Methamphetamine addiction drove this Nudgee College alumnus to a life of homelessness, desperation and crime
Zacherie William Sharman, 25, pleaded guilty to possession of a dangerous drug and possession of drug utensils, and chose to self-represent himself on a not guilty plea to a charge of driving while disqualified by court order.
The defendant’s mother, Jeanine Sharman, tearfully took to the witness stand to recall the morning of February 22 when she ran into her son at the McDonald’s in Albion.
“He was homeless at that stage, I think,” she said.
The court heard, via witness testimony and two recorded phone calls to emergency services, Sharman approached his mother to demand she give him money to pay off a drug-related debt.
Mrs Sharman went inside to withdraw $100, at which point she asked the manager of the store to keep an eye on them and call the police if Sharman became violent.
When Mrs Sharman gave her son the money, he attempted to snatch her car keys out of her hands, forcing another customer to step in to help her escape into the safety of her car.
According to a statement given to police and tendered by the court, Sharman took a taxi to follow his mother back to her home in Sandgate.
Mrs Sharman drove past him as he was dropped off on a nearby street, and told him, “Get away from me, we want nothing to do with you,” but he continued walking towards their home.
Shortly after, Mrs Sharman called triple-0 to report her work ute had been stolen, and that she had seen her son, who had been disqualified from driving by an earlier court order, taking off with it in the direction of Deagon.
Sharman claimed his mother could not have seen who was driving the car, as she’d parked up a hill and couldn’t see the car at the time.
Five days later, police searched the home in regards to a different matter, and found a digital scale, glass pipe and .013g of methamphetamine belonging to Sharman.
Magistrate Jennifer Batts found Sharman guilty of all charges. He was convicted, fined $400 and disqualified from driving for two years.
He was ordered to pay the Queensland Police Service $1500 in compensation for their time, as the lengthy trial was deemed unnecessary given the strength of the prosecution’s case.
Sharman told the court he had recently discovered religion during his eight month stint at a drug rehabilitation centre in Hervey Bay, and had since stopped using drugs.
Chantslea Sue Curran
A former Gympie private school student sobbed as her sentence was handed down for multiple offences including stealing cars, possessing drugs and fraud
A former equestrian rider and Gympie Victory College student who went off the rails after leaving the school left a Gympie Magistrate stunned on Tuesday over the number of offences she’d committed despite her age.
Chantslea Sue Curran, 20, pleaded guilty in Gympie Magistrates Court to fraud, stealing two cars, possessing cannabis and driving unlicensed.
Curran was also on probation from previous crimes at the time of offending, which is the second time she has breached a probation.
Police prosecutor Michael Phillips told the court Curran committed the stealing offence and fraud on the same day in October 2020, when she stole a car from Coochin Creek and drove it up the Bruce Highway.
She later filled the car with fuel before driving off without paying.
She was also unlicensed at the time, having been disqualified from obtaining a licence from a court order.
Sergeant Phillips said Curran was on bail when she was busted with cannabis.
“She was released on parole after that,” he said.
Defence lawyer Chris Anderson told the court of Curran’s potential to be a successful equestrian.
Magistrate Kurt Fowler made note of the fact Curran had also spent six months in custody, despite being so young.
The 20-year-old sobbed while her sentence was handed down.
She was fined $750, disqualified from driving for two years, and sentenced to 10 months behind bars, but released immediately on parole.
NO CONVICTION RECORDED
Glen Patrick James Turner
21-year-old Nudgee College graduate Glen Patrick James Turner is a “slow learner”, according to Pine Rivers Magistrates Court Magistrate Trevor Morgan.
Turner appeared at court for the fifth time on November 9 when he pleaded guilty to a single charge of obstructing police, in violation of a good behaviour bond he’d been placed on in July.
The court heard Turner and two of his friends were questioned and searched by police at the Petrie train station just after 6.30pm on Thursday, August 13.
Turner co-operated with police until they attempted to search his friend, at which point he became aggravated and tried to stop the officer.
“A violent struggle ensued”, according to the police prosecutor, prompting the officers to use force to arrest Turner and transport him to the watch house.
He was fined $300 and ordered to pay the $300 good behaviour bond.
No conviction was recorded, however the Magistrate warned Turner the rest of his life is going to be “stuffed” unless he smartens up his act.
Kayla-Rose Kelly
Unemployed and heartbroken, 22-year-old Kayla-Rose Kelly faced the Pine Rivers Magistrates Court on November 4 where she claimed she had no memory of stealing close to $400 worth of stock from Sephora at Chermside.
The court heard Kelly started drinking heavily and taking anti-anxiety medication Xanax when she discovered her partner had been cheating on her.
Kelly, an alumnus of prestigious Brisbane private school Mary MacKillop College, claimed through her defence lawyer that the medication made her act out-of-character and commit several acts of theft she was later unable to recall.
According to the police prosecutor, Kelly stole over $460 worth of goods from both liquor and makeup stores between July 17 and 18.
She pleaded guilty to three charges of stealing, fined $800 and ordered to pay restitution to Sephora for the loss of stock.
No conviction was recorded.
Kalum Gulliver-Brown
The young Brisbane rugby league player was sentenced in court for a ‘gratuitous’ assault at a nightclub which hospitalised his victim
Brisbane ex-private schoolboy Kalum Gulliver-Brown “coward punched” a man on a date with his female friend at a popular nightclub before savagely bashing him with no provocation, a court heard.
The Lota man, aged 21, pleaded guilty in Wynnum Magistrates Court in May this year to a single charge of assault occasioning bodily harm in a public place while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance.
The court heard the assault occurred at Fridays nightclub in Brisbane CBD in the early hours of November 22 , 2020.
The court heard Gulliver-Brown and his victim had a number of “interactions” which progressively got more aggressive over time, due to the defendant’s belief his friend did not want to be on the date with the victim.
About 2.30am in the beer garden, the victim felt a “sudden impact to the right side of his face and instant pain to his right eye”, police prosecutor Snr Const Andy Ross told the court.
The victim “lost control of his body and fell over,” at which point Gulliver-Brown administered two more blows to his face, leaving him semiconscious.
Snr Const Ross described the assault as “gratuitous”.
The victim attended the Princess Alexandra Hospital later that day.
The court heard Gulliver-Brown graduated from a well-known private school in 2016 and had recently secured work at the Port of Brisbane after completing a four-year carpentry apprenticeship.
He is also a gifted rugby league player.
Magistrate Zachary Sarra described Gulliver-Brown’s actions as a “gutless coward punch” over a “belle of the ball”.
He was ordered to perform 40 hours’ community service and pay the victim $600 compensation.
He was also placed on a $3000 two-year good behaviour bond.
No conviction was recorded.
Rhys Michael Wood
The former high-ranking worker at a State Government office has been sentenced for a big ice haul uncovered during a traffic stop
The former high-ranking officer at the Queensland Office of Fair Trading and graduate of one of the state’s most prestigious private schools has been sentenced after a late-night traffic stop uncovered a big haul of methamphetamine.
Murrumba Downs man Rhys Michael Wood, 26, a graduate of Townsville Grammar School, pleaded guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court in June this year to possessing a commercial quantity of a Schedule 1 dangerous drug.
The court heard Wood and a co-defendant, Enoggera man Max Vincent Scholz, 27, were intercepted driving together in a vehicle at Taringa on April 21, 2019.
Under Scholz in the passenger seat, police uncovered two bags of methamphetamine with a pure weight of 10.2g within 13.8g of substance.
Crown prosecutor Michael Gawrych told the court “police focused their investigation on Scholz” initially, due to the location of the drugs under his seat and Wood’s account that he had “simply picked up” his passenger and was driving him and his denial of knowledge of the drugs.
However, Mr Gawrych said, Wood had “liability as occupier” due to his being the person in control of the vehicle.
The court heard Wood, a former resident of Nudgee, had limited criminal history but in the time between the meth seizure on April 21, 2019 and today’s sentence, he had been sentenced for minor drug offences after he was busted with a bong, grinder and small amount of cannabis.
On that occasion, he was placed on a 12-month good-behaviour bond with no conviction recorded.
Defence counsel James McNab told the court his client resigned his position at the OFT, where he had been employed for more than three-and-a-half years, rising to the position of senior compliance officer.
Wood was placed on two years’ probation with no conviction recorded.
Scholz pleaded guilty to the charge of possessing a commercial quantity of a Schedule 1 dangerous drug and will be sentenced at a later date.
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