Darling Downs teen guilty of brutal gang bashing with metal bars

A court heard a man was walking down a street when a group of teenagers barrelled out of a stolen car, armed with metal rods, and attacked him in an attempt to steal his belongings.

Queensland police generic.

A court heard a 16-year-old Darling Downs boy was one of five offenders who randomly attacked a Southern Downs man who was walking to his Goondiwindi home at night in late 2022.

The now 18-year-old, fronted the Childrens Court of Queensland in Toowoomba on Thursday, September 5, and pleaded guilty to attempted robbery while armed in company and the unlawful use of a vehicle used in the commission of a crime.

The court heard the man was attacked by at least five young men who were all armed with metal rods, on December 15, 2022.

The group jumped from a stolen car and demanded the man hand over his property, however he resisted and tried to flee which resulted in him being struck a number of times.

The man suffered from a number of injuries which included extensive contusions and abrasions to his back, as well as swelling and bruising to his face and mouth.

At the time of the offending, the then 16-year-old was on a probation order for property offences, which was the only entry on his criminal history.

The court heard since the incident, the young man had not reoffended and his probation case worker said he had been “phenomenal,” despite facing disadvantages and grappling with a psychotic disorder

Judge Dennis Lynch KC told the young man he was lucky the man had not been seriously injured or killed during the attempted robbery, nonetheless, it would have been a terrifying experience for the victim.

He said the young man was easily led and was only diagnosed with an intellectual impairment and schizoaffective type disorder while in detention for the crime, which he had since been medicated for.

Judge Lynch said the 186 days the boy spent on remand was excessive and given his age and limited criminal history it was highly unlikely he would have been required to serve that amount of time.

He ruled it would be inappropriate to impose further time in detention, especially under the youth justice legislation which strongly focused on rehabilitating young offenders.

The Darling Downs teen was formally reprimanded and no conviction was recorded.

Originally published as Darling Downs teen guilty of brutal gang bashing with metal bars