Outrage after magistrate spares a Gold Coast thug

A magistrate who declined to record a conviction against a Gold Coast street thug has a history of imposing ‘soft’ sentences.

Magistrate Joan White. Picture: Annette Dew

A magistrate under fire for giving a New Zealand-born thug just 12 months’ probation for punching a teenager unconscious during the Gold Coast Schoolies festival has a history of soft sentences.

Southport magistrate Joan White on Friday spared Caleb Maraku from prison and did not record a conviction, with the light touch outraging the victim’s family and MP John-Paul Langbroek.

Ms White has in the past ­repeatedly been accused of imposing inadequate sentences and has been the subject of numerous appeals by police.

It was reported in November that she handed a six-month suspended sentence to Iranian refugee Behzad Bashiri in October 2012 after an open discussion in court about the ramifications on his visa of a tougher sentence. Bashiri had drenched himself in petrol and threatened to set a government ­office alight. Victoria Police have since alleged he went on to threaten to blow up Australians and mow down police with a truck.

Mr Maraku would have faced automatic deportation if jailed for 12 months or more. Legal sources said a term of imprisonment was within the range of punishment for assault. He had presented in court as reserved and remorseful, but once outside laughed and posed for selfies in front of television cameras.

It is understood he has now come to the attention of the ­Department of Home Affairs, which has discretionary powers to cancel the visas of people who are a risk to the community.

The assault was caught on video, showing victim Taliesin Tadrew-O’Meara trying to back away before being knocked cold by Mr Maraku and falling to the ground with a thud.

Mr Tadrew-O’Meara had been walking with a female friend when he was set upon by Maraku and two other men after an ­exchange of words in November. The disturbing footage was not shown or mentioned during the court hearing.

CCTV still showing Taliesin Tadrew-O’Meara being knocked out by New Zealand-born Caleb Maraku on the Gold Coast. Picture: Channel 9

Mr Maraku, 19, moved to Australia from New Zealand six years ago. A Facebook page in his name discussed his impending move to Australia, with one post in January 2012 saying he was “going to auz to liv (sic)” forever.

“Finnally in aussie … i already had a fight with a abo at the train station lols; i beat him uhp,” reads a post from immediately after his arrival. The post had been deleted yesterday.

Tasha Tadrew, the victim’s mother, expressed shock at the sentence in a post on Facebook. “This is the low life that hit my son and is now walking away with a 12-month suspended sentence and laughing in the process,” she wrote. “Where is the justice? For my son who is still suffering, for his family and friends that are still suffering?

“My heart is heaving and I am beyond furious … this is not OK. This is not what was meant to happen.”

Mr Langbroek, MP for Surfers Paradise, said the footage of the assault was “hard to even look at”.

“It’s very disturbing. The thought it could be my own son or one of my daughters who is affected by that situation is every parent’s worst fear,” he said.

“I just cannot understand how that sentence could have been given when you look at the potential for what could have happened.”

In 2015 it was reported that Ms White, a former Legal Aid lawyer, faced the most police appeals of any magistrate in the state in the previous two years.

Nine appeals were lodged against her over the period, with five successful, two dismissed, one withdrawn and one ongoing.

Queensland police rarely appeal sentences in magistrates’ courts, with prosecutors discouraged due to the cost and workload.

Caleb Maraku, 19, takes a selfie in front of TV cameras after receiving probation for a brutal one-punch attack in Surfers Paradise. Picture: Leanne Emery

As footage of Mr Maraku’s ­behaviour outside court and of his shocking attack was shared on social media, there were calls for him to be imprisoned or deported.

The “Anonymous4Justice” Facebook page posted photographs of Mr Maraku’s girlfriend and of his brother-in-law’s car.

At his Upper Coomera home yesterday, his girlfriend told The Australian he had been forced to flee following a backlash over his court appearance.

“He’s already had to move out because of all of this. We’ve had death threats,” she said from ­behind a half-closed front door. “It’s not good for me because I had nothing to do with it, or for my six-week-old daughter.”

Asked about calls online for Mr Maraku to be imprisoned or deported, she claimed there was more to the story.

She added that he was not ­responsible for the Facebook comments being attributed to him. “People should find out the full story before they start commenting on a 20-second video.”

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton declined to comment on whether or not Mr Maraku’s visa could be cancelled.

The failure to play the video at the hearing may also have been a factor in the light sentence.

It is not known why the court was not shown the video.

Ms White said Mr Maraku was a “very lucky man” that his punch did not result in a death and ordered he stay away from alcohol and drugs while on probation.

Mr Maraku was ordered to pay the victim $365 compensation for medical bills.