Boy and girlfriend break in

THREE-AND-A-HALF months in detention was deemed time enough for a 15year-old boy with a history of reoffending soon after being placed on court orders.

The boy was taken into custody after he and his 15-yearold girlfriend broke into the Warwick home of a man about 3am on November 6, 2022.

The Children’s Court of Queensland at Toowoomba was told the pair had removed a flyscreen to gain access and, once inside, had opened the front door for a quick getaway.

The man had been asleep but woke to find the two teenagers in his bedroom, one leaning over his bedside table where he kept his mobile phone and car keys, Crown prosecutor Emily Coley said. The man yelled at the pair to get out and chased them out of the house, engaging in a scuffle with the girl outside, during which she dropped a bag which contained some of his property, she said. The boy got away with the victim’s car keys.

The boy pleaded guilty to entering a premises and stealing.

Ms Coley said the boy had a “lengthy criminal history” for someone so young and he had been subject to three separate court orders when he committed the break-in.

The boy’s pre-sentence report said his compliance with court orders was quite good apart from the fact he so often reoffended after being placed on orders, she said.

The boy’s barrister Jessica Goldie said the teenager had an intellectual impairment. He was attending school each day while in detention and had engaged with a speech pathologist to help him, she said.

Judge Anthony Rafter SC placed the boy on nine months probation and, in keeping with Youth Justice Act policy, ordered the conviction not be recorded.