18yo charged for vandalising Jewish MP Josh Burns’ office in St Kilda with pro-Palestine slogan
An 18-year-old woman has fronted court in Melbourne charged over a violent graffiti attack on the St Kilda office of Labor MP Josh Burns.
Police & Courts
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An 18-year-old woman has faced court charged over vandalism at Jewish Labor MP Josh Burns’ electoral office in St Kilda.
Matilda McDermott wore a face mask while seated in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday charged with five offences related to the June graffiti attack in which the message “Zionism is fascism” was scrawled across Mr Burns’ office in red paint.
Mr Burns at the time described the attack as “politically motivated”, having occurred after a sustained campaign of abuse from pro-Palestine supporters over the war in Gaza.
The lawyer for Ms McDermott said prosecutors had agreed to withdraw some charges against her client, who has no criminal history.
However they rejected a proposal for diversion, which enables matters to be dealt with without criminal conviction.
The case was adjourned for a contest mention on February 18.
Ms McDermott’s lawyer sought to prevent the media from covering the court case, saying the release of charges would create “significant prejudice” against her client.
“The defendant is 18 years old, has nil criminal priors and it would be a significant prejudice to her if the charges are released given that she may be identifiable,” the lawyer said.
However magistrate Kay Robertson released the material, saying “we have to assume the community is aware that charges and a conviction are two very different things”.
Among Ms McDermott’s charges is a failure to provide police password access to her phone.
A 17-year-old boy was also charged over the vandalism attack in the early hours of June 19.
The windows of Mr Burns’ office were smashed and small fires lit in nearby telecommunications pits, requiring extensive repairs.
“We thank the police for their diligence in ensuring the law is upheld, and our office and the residences above, are safe places to be in,” Mr Burns said in July.
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