Mechelle Louise Horne: Childcare worker crashes car, assaults witnesses

An ex-childcare worker crashed her car while drunk and then turned on the good samaritans trying to help her by punching one, biting another and dragging a teenage girl along the ground by her hair.

A childcare worker of more than 10 years has lost her blue card after crashing her car and assaulting those who came to her aid, pulling the hair of a 16-year-old, biting a woman, and punching two others.

Mechelle Louise Horne, 33, was teary as she stood in Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Friday, August 5 and pleaded guilty to four charges: three counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and one count of serious assault of a police officer.

Prosecutor Sergeant Kellie Cullen told the court of the “vicious” attacks which led to Horne’s arrest and conviction, explaining they occurred after she crashed her car into a parked vehicle at Marsden while drunk.

She said Horne assaulted the three people, including one 16-year-old girl, who came to her aid in the moments after the crash on December 22 last year.

Sgt Cullen explained the Logan woman grabbed the child who tried to help her by the hair and began punching her in the face, causing bruising.

“She then pulled the child along by her hair,” Sgt Cullen said.

The court heard a second victim, a woman, tried to help the child and was also punched in the face by Horne.

The third victim in the matter, the child’s mother, tried to restrain Horne after watching her daughter be assaulted.

Sgt Cullen said Horne bit her on the forearm and on the breast, causing bruising.

Mechelle Louise Horne, 33, leaving Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Friday, August 5, 2022.

Police attended and arrested the woman, who then rolled onto her back and kicked a female police officer in the chest.

Sgt Cullen told the court Horne had no criminal history so one could assume the behaviour was “out of character” for her.

Horne’s defence said she had consumed a substantial amount of alcohol on the night she offended and was struggling to cope with a number of personal issues.

The court heard she had worked in childcare since she was 19 years old but lost her blue card and had to quit her job as a result of her offending.

Horne indicated she had not consumed alcohol “in excess” since the incident but she did drink “sporadically”, a couple of times a week.

Magistrate Michael O’Driscoll said her behaviour was “disgraceful” and he would have thought she would be abstaining completely from alcohol following the incident.

Horne was ultimately sentenced to two years’ probation and convictions were recorded.