Convicted drug offender Kim Frankham gives real-life lesson on drug dangers to Faith Lutheran students
High school students visiting a SEQ courtroom were given a real-life lesson by a mother of five on the dangers of drugs after her guilty plea.
A Magistrates Court hearing took an unusual turn on Tuesday when a convicted drug offender was asked to give a group of high school students a real-time warning about the dangers of drugs.
Kim Terese Frankham, 41, pleaded guilty to four charges — possessing dangerous drugs, possessing utensils, possessing tainted property, and possessing an item used in the commission of a crime — when she faced Magistrate Deborah Vasta.
In a striking courtroom moment, Magistrate Vasta asked Frankham to deliver a lesson to a group of visiting high school students from Faith Lutheran College at Victoria Point who were in the public gallery.
“You’ve got five children, including (children of the age) in the ranges of the teenagers sitting in this court,” the magistrate said.
“I don’t know if, as a public service job, you might like to just for a few seconds, just turn around and talk to these kids,” Magistrate Vasta said.
Frankham faced the students and said: “Don’t do meth, not once … you only get one attack at this life. So anytime you make a mistake, it stays with you forever.”
Police prosecutors told the court officers searched a Victoria Point address on March 19 and found the drug GHB, a glass pipe, a stolen debit card, a Medicare card and a Bunnings store card.
“Ultimately, imprisonment is within range,” the prosecutors said.
“However, a very lengthy probation order will definitely assist in preventing further offences and continued rehabilitation.”
Her defence lawyer, Jackson Freeman, partner at Rostron Carlyle Rojas Lawyers in Brisbane, told the court Frankham had been “extremely unsettled about how serious the situation was, and really disappointed in herself for falling back into the same trap”.
Mr Freeman said his client had been off drugs for at least three months and now had strong supports in place to avoid further offending.
Magistrate Vasta acknowledged Frankham’s history but noted her responsibilities as a mother of five children.
She warned Frankham that “the people that are doing drugs with you, they actually don’t care about you, they just care about doing drugs with other people … they’re not actually your friends if they encourage you to keep doing drugs.
“You’ve had a lot of problems with drugs over the years, a lot of it to do with your associates, but you’ve got the most important job in the world, which is raising children.”
Magistrate Vasta sentenced Frankham to 12 months’ probation with conditions to attend programs, comply with supervision, and submit to random drug testing.
“You’ve done a lot of work on yourself … you’ve got a lot of opportunities, and you’ve just got to really keep staying focused,” Magistrate Vasta told her.
