Brother who tasered seven-year-old sister jailed for nine months

A man who tasered his seven-year-old sister after she dobbed him in to a school counsellor was sentenced to at least nine months behind bars after pleading guilty to using a taser on his sister twice this year as a form of “discipline”.

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A young man who tasered his seven-year-old sister after she dobbed him in to a school counsellor for previously shocking her with the electrical weapon saw it as “discipline rather than punishment”.

The 22-year-old mechanic was sentenced on Tuesday to at least nine months behind bars after pleading guilty to using a taser on his sister twice this year.

The victim, who has now turned eight, told a counsellor at her southwest Sydney primary school in February that her brother would smack her with a belt or sometimes use a taser if she was naughty.

The school contacted the Family and Community Services department and the victim later told her mother about the admission to the counsellor.

The 22-year-old sentenced to jail after tasering his younger sister cannot be legally identified.

Despite pleading with her mother not to tell her brother, the girl was playing at a neighbour’s home when her mother called and told her to come home.

Liverpool Local Court heard how her brother then grabbed his little sister by the ear, said “why are you snitching on me” and used the taser, which looked like an iPhone, on her leg.

The court heard on an earlier occasion — during the last Christmas holidays — the brother also used the taser on the girl after their mother claimed she had been misbehaving at the supermarket.

The brother’s lawyer, Maurice Navarrete, said while he didn’t justify his client’s behaviour, the taser assaults were viewed as discipline rather than punishment.

“He found the taser in the park, thought it was a phone, found it funny, took it home and that is where he kept it,” he said.

“(He acknowledges) he shouldn’t have used it on his sister.”

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Mr Navarrete said the brother, who had no history of violence, had witnessed domestic violence between his parents as a child.

Mr Navarrete argued that with almost four months jail already served since he was arrested in February, the man should be released.

But Magistrate David Degnan didn’t agree and rejected the suggestion the tasering was “chastisement”.

“As smack would have been the possible lawful chastisement,” he said.

“A taser is gratuitous violence committed on a young child.”

In sentencing the young man, Magistrate Degnan said: “Wiser minds than myself have still not been able to resolve why victims of domestic violence turn into offenders themselves.

“He is dishing out similar abuse to his seven-year-old sister instead of providing her with the protection that normally would be provided by an older brother to a much younger sister.”

The man told the court through his lawyer he used the taser on his sister as a form of discipline.

The brother, who had pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of a prohibited weapon, was sentenced to 16 months jail with nine months non-parole.

The sentence included a 20 per cent discount for an early guilty plea.

Other charges, including use offensive weapon to commit indictable offence, were also dropped as a result.

The Local Court only has jurisdiction to impose a maximum sentence of two years jail.

The girl is no longer in the care of her mother — who is also facing charges but has not pleaded guilty.

Child protection advocate, Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston, said the brother should’ve been ordered to complete a domestic violence order also.

“I don’t believe the issue is the sentence. For something like this it doesn’t matter how long he spends in jail,” she said.

“It just needs to be long enough for them to complete a domestic violence program.”

Mrs Hetty said it appeared the man was a product of his upbringing.

“If we are serious about stopping domestic violence perpetrators, we have to stop the offenders from offending,” she said.