Mackay youth pleads guilty to arson, stalking, sexual assault

A young man has avoided any further punishment after damaging a car being driven by a pregnant woman, stalking and sexually assaulted his carer while on bail, and joy-riding in a stolen car before setting it on fire.

He pleaded guilty in CCQ to two counts each of intentionally endangering safety of a person travelling in a vehicle and sexual assault, and one count each of arson, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, stalking and assault causing bodily harm.

A young man has avoided any further punishment for a raft of offending including throwing a rock that went threw the window of a car being driving by a pregnant woman, stalking and sexually assaulted his carer while on bail, and joy-riding in a stolen car before setting it on fire.

And he still had 100 other outstanding charges still to be finalised in a lower court jurisdiction.

But because the offending occurred when he was a child, and time already spent in detention, he was given no further punishment and convictions were not recorded.

Childrens Court of Queensland heard the offending occurred between January 2020 and September 2021 when he was aged 15, 16 and 17 – he was now 20.

It began when he and a 12-year-old co-offender were on the roof of their Mackay region residential care facility and threw a “tennis ball-sized rock” at a vehicle driving past, shattering the windscreen – the driver was a pregnant woman and she had another child in the car.

Next came the unlawful stalking and sexual assault of one of his residential carers, which occurred over about two weeks in early 2021 after he was released on bail.

Crown prosecutor Monique Sheppard said he repeatedly made sexual comments to the woman, in her 30s, tried to enter and office or toilet when she was inside, told her he knew where she lived.

The court heard on a car trip back from an outing he tried to grab her bra and expose her breasts; he also grabbed the steering wheel while she was driving, and waiting until there was traffic behind the vehicle and pulled the handbrake.

He already spent 437 days in presentence detention. Photo: Brett Wortman / Sunshine Coast Daily

Ms Sheppard said the youth made comments about “wanting to see her moan” before grabbing her fingers and pulling them back as far as he could so she experienced pain.

He also told her “he wanted to rape her in an alleyway”.

The court heard the final lot of offending involved the youth and another, both 17, joy-riding in a stolen Kluger – he filmed himself on his phone.

It was then driven to and area, lit of fire and “completely destroyed”.

Ms Sheppard said the victim of the car theft was particularly upset because inside the family car was a pram, car seat and spare clothes for his one-year-old child.

The court heard the youth had no criminal history, but there were 100 charges outstanding in the magistrates court jurisdiction that related to offending allegedly committed as a child and adult.

He pleaded guilty in CCQ to two counts each of intentionally endangering safety of a person travelling in a vehicle and sexual assault, and one count each of arson, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, stalking and assault causing bodily harm.

Defence barrister Scott McLennan said there were two overwhelming features in the case – that the offending being finalised occurred when he was a child and that he had already spent 437 days in detention.

Mr McLennan said his client had endured a terrible start in life, marked by instability, and also had a mild intellectual disability.

“He’s asked me to apologise to the court and to the complainants for his offending,” Mr McLennan said.

Mr McLennan argued that because his client was receiving a substantial NDIS package that included 24/7 care “it would be overserving” to also place him on any kind of supervision order.

“It my submission it’s unnecessary when he’s already supervised to a much greater extent than he would be under a probation order,” he said.

Judge John Coker agreed the youth had spent an “inordinately” long time in detention and agreed any supervision would be overservicing.

As such he chose to “simply convict and not further punish” on all matters, noting the time already served in presentence detention.

Convictions were not recorded.

Originally published as Mackay youth pleads guilty to arson, stalking, sexual assault