Praise for teen thug who attacked his mum and vandalised justice centre
A TEEN who vandalised a youth justice centre because he lost his TV privileges was released before attacking his mum days later — but authorities say they are “more than happy” with his behaviour on parole.
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A TEEN who vandalised a youth justice centre because he lost his TV privileges was paroled — then attacked his mum days later.
Despite the shocking offending by the 19-year-old, authorities say they are “more than happy with how he’s going on parole”.
The youth was today fined $500 and ordered to pay for repairs to the Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre after pleading guilty to four charges in relation to the two incidents.
The violent teen has a long history of offending and was sentenced to 12 months’ youth detention in October.
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He embarked on his TV-related rampage on New Year’s Day.
Three months later, he had extra time added to his detention after admitting a violent attack on a former girlfriend. Despite that, he was paroled in June.
Just three days after being released, he contacted his mother demanding money, telling her she had half an hour to meet his demands.
He then went to her home and was refused entry, prompting him to threaten to “kick the door in and beat the f--- out of everyone in the house”.
He broke in through a window and attacked her, claiming he acted in self-defence after she lashed out.
Despite being arrested and charged, he was bailed by a magistrate and did not have his parole cancelled by the Youth Parole Board.
His lawyer told the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court the teen had a troubled relationship with his mother who had “cleaned out his bank account” while he was in detention.
The court heard he had a dysfunctional childhood and had suffered physical and verbal abuse.
Convicting and fining him today, the magistrate said: “You’re doing well with your parole. I’m glad to see that, it’s a good sign. It’s a tough world.
“You’ve got to be strong, you’ve got to be smart. You don’t want to spend your life in jail.”
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