Zachery John Moore has walked from Southport Courthouse after pleading guilty to setting fire to a houseboat

A magistrate has labelled a teenager a “mindless idiot” for getting drunk and burning a boat, which sank to the bottom of the Coomera River. READ HIS COMMENTS >>>

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A TEENAGE father who climbed on-board a newly renovated houseboat in a Gold Coast river and used a makeshift flame thrower to set it on fire has walked from court with the support of his family.

Zachery John Moore, 19, pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court to one charge of arson.

He was charged after trashing a houseboat in the Coomera River on July 1 last year.

Zachery John Moore, 19, pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court to one charge of arson. Picture: Jodie Callcott.

Moore, who was 18 at the time, then used a spray can as a makeshift flame thrower to set fire to a couch.

The court was told by the time he made it back to shore in a boat the houseboat was well lit and the smoke and fire had attracted onlookers.

Crown prosecutor Michael Mitchell said the owner of the houseboat had spent $20,000 renovating it just four months before Moore destroyed it.

Zachery John Moore was charged after throwing furniture overboard and setting fire to a houseboat at the Coomera River. Picture: Nine Gold Coast News

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Mr Mitchell said Maritime Safety Queensland was also billed $13,860 by a contractor to remove the houseboat from the bottom of Coomera River.

Judge David Kent told Moore he hoped the case would be a turning point and encouraged him to gain an education.

“Education is the key to a happy and successful life,” Mr Kent said.

“I very much recommend to you that you put your best foot forward in your education … to support yourself and your son and to be a contributing member of the community rather than a mindless idiot who gets drunk and burns boats.”

Defence barrister Sarah Thompson said Moore was supported in court by family including his mother, grandmother, father and his ex-partner, who is the mother of his child.

She said Moore was significantly intoxicated at the time of the offending and was now working towards a career in the construction industry.

Moore was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail with immediate parole. 

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