First teen sentenced under new Sophie’s Law after baby killed in crash
A new law recently introduced into Queensland legislation has been used for the first time.
An Aussie teenager has been sentenced as part of a new law that recognises the death of an unborn child due to criminal conduct in Queensland.
Queensland tattoo artist Haylee Loccisano was 26 weeks pregnant when she was involved in a horror crash.
Her daughter Celeste was born prematurely and died 30 minutes later.
A 17-year-old was charged over the head-on crash, with the court hearing how she crossed over double lines while looking at her passenger’s phone.
She was the first Australian to be charged under Sophie’s Law – which involves offenders causing grievous bodily harm to a pregnant person or destroying the life of an unborn child.
But the teenager - who cannot be named for legal reasons - was sentenced to just 100 hours of community service and disqualified from holding a licence for six months, a sentence slammed by the victim’s family.
Outside court, Ms Loccisano told reporters the sentence “wasn’t enough”.
“It wasn’t enough for a life to be taken. I just wish that (Celeste) had more justice,” she said.
Ms Loccisano’s mother Teresa Burn – who was driving the car when Celeste was killed – told reporters outside of court she felt “disheartened”.
“She killed my granddaughter and nearly killed my daughter and she’s just walked away,” she said.
“Every day, I think about how I should have had my little granddaughter there. She should be giggling, she should be laughing.
“She should be giggling, she should be laughing. There is none of that. It’s all gone. It’s all stolen.
“And this young girl gets to live her life. My daughter suffers every day.”
Ms Loccisano was also severely injured in the crash and was in a coma for a week, eventually needing eight surgeries.
“I just fixated on her the whole time that I remember being aware to focus in and she hadn’t moved,” Ms Loccisano said of the crash.
When she woke from the coma, she was told Celeste had died.
“It didn’t shock me. I already knew,” she said in a devastating impact statement read in court.
“It was unbearable to finally have my daughters in my arms. The little version of me and my husband, but in such a lifeless, limp state.
“She had severe purple and blue bruising all over her head, and a broken nose as well as dried up blood in her ears.”
The court had previously heard how Ms Loccisano had had four miscarriages before falling pregnant with her “miracle baby”.
Celeste’s father and Hayley’s husband Connor Loccisano took to social media to express his anger at the sentence.
“Queensland court system is a failure,” he wrote.
The girl’s lawyer, James Godbolt, told the court she plans to study law at university and was “obviously very sorry” for the tragedy.
“Nothing can make it right,” he added.
When was the law introduced?
The new legislation – Sophie’s Law – came after a long campaign from parents Sarah and Peter Milosevic, whose unborn baby was killed by a drunk and drug-affected driver in 2014.
Ms Milosevic was 39 weeks pregnant when the crash occurred.
The driver was handed a $950 fine and a licence suspension for five months due to Queensland laws not recognising Sophie’s life as a factor of the sentencing.
“Instead of bringing my baby girl home I had to plan her funeral - I was that close to the end of my pregnancy,” Ms Milosevic wrote in a petition about the legislation move.
“This petition is to give a voice to a little baby who will never take her first steps.”
The new law was brought into parliament in September last year – however, Ms Loccisano’s case is the first time it has been applied.
Ms Milosevic has supported Ms Loccisano throughout the case.
“I think it’s a free ride,” Ms Milosevic said outside court, according to the ABC.
“I don’t think she will learn anything from that. As far as I’m concerned she got away with it.”
She also took to social media after the case.
“Absolutely so sad. My heart is breaking for Haylee, Connor and family,” Ms Milosevic said.
How does it work?
Queensland parliament passed the law for the killing of an unborn baby in September 2023, which means it is now recognised as an “aggravating factor” at sentencing for offenders.
This means judges are required to consider the fact when handing down a sentence for the offending.
The law also allows family members of the unborn child to deliver victim impact statements to the court and expands the eligibility for funeral financial assistance to include the funeral of the unborn child.