Children subject to 67 welfare reports while department ‘did nothing’ ahead of ‘shocking’ attack

Justice Judith Kelly noted the ‘shocking’, violent attack on three defenceless women came after Territory Families apparently ignored a string of reports of abuse and neglect.

Judge Judith Kelly said it was ‘shocking that a group of young people should behave with such callous disregard for another person’s feelings and safety and property’.

Two young children had a combined 67 child welfare notifications between them but “nothing was ever done about any of them” before they violently assaulted three women, a court has heard.

The youths, aged 12 and 14, each pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to robbery, assault, property damage and unlawful use of a motor vehicle following the incident in Tennant Creek in February last year.

In handing them each a suspended jail sentence last week, Justice Judith Kelly said they were part of a group of about seven kids who allegedly attacked the women at Mary Ann Dam.

The group allegedly repeatedly assaulted them, including by pulling them to the ground by the hair while demanding they hand over their phones and car keys before one of them threatened to stab the women with a pair of scissors.

The two women eventually managed to escape and reported the group to police but they had already turned their attention to another woman, who they also allegedly violently assaulted while she begged them to stop and called out for help.

The group also allegedly smashed one of her car windows before taking it joy-riding around Tennant Creek.

“It is, frankly, shocking that a group of young people should behave with such callous disregard for another person’s feelings and safety and property, not just once, but against a number of different victims,” Justice Kelly said.

But she also noted the 14-year-old had been the subject of “46 notifications to Territory Families concerning your wellbeing as a child”.

“Though, as far as I can see, nothing was ever done about any of them,” she said.

“The most recent report from Territory Families says that your childhood has been characterised by transience … and concerns of neglect, parental alcohol abuse and exposure to emotional abuse due to exposure to domestic violence.”

Justice Kelly said the 12-year-old had been “the subject of 21 intake assessments from Territory Families, mostly concerning neglect and emotional harm due to exposure to parental alcohol and drug use and family violence”.

Justice Judith Kelly said the woman had decided to leave Tennant Creek as a result of the carjacking as she was now ‘too afraid to stay’.

“But again, it seems nothing was done as a result,” she said.

“I am told that (your) house is often overcrowded, with family members coming and staying for extended periods.

“Your grandmother says the house is always messy and a lot of people go in and out and eat all the tucker. “

In a victim impact statement, the latter victim said she had decided to leave Tennant Creek as a result of the carjacking because she was now “too afraid to stay”.

“The violent and unfeeling behaviour of the offenders was terrifying and confronting, given their young age,” she said.

“The offenders physically attacked me, verbally abused me, then stole my car, unprovoked, for the sake of their own amusement.

“They did so with no regard for my obvious distress and vulnerability.”

She said while she “would like to be sympathetic to the traumas I know many youth offenders endure in their life before crime”, their behaviour made that “very difficult”.

“I believe that the offenders pose a fundamental threat to society and will continue to commit crimes on people and property,” she said.

“Following a great deal of reflection over many months, I have therefore decided it is my wish that the offenders receive a jail sentence for the sake of public safety, if nothing else.”