Teen raped male cousin, 7

A FAR Northern teen has received three years probation for raping his seven or eightyear-old cousin at a Manoora home.

The Children’s Court of Queensland was told the defendant, aged 14 or 15 years, had pinned the young boy to a couch and raped him while he screamed for his mother.

He pleaded guilty to the of- fence, which occurred early last year, while he had been staying with relatives. No conviction was recorded.

“It was a single opportunistic offence,” Crown prosecutor Pat Nevard said, describing it as a “disturbing aberration” against the teen’s otherwise clean criminal history.

Afterwards the defendant gave the boy his phone “to placate him”, Mr Nevard said.

Cairns Judge Dean Morzone said “it beggars belief that there’s naivety in the conduct”.

“I do not believe that you did not know what you were doing,” he said.

“For some reason you could not stop yourself from doing these acts, but you have no medical reason why that is.”

The court was told the offending could result in up to 10 years detention.

Defence barrister James Sheridan said he “can’t explain” his client’s actions.

The court was told the boy had been taken from his family environment and sent to boarding school, where he received no sexual education.

He had been exposed to people drinking too much and people being violent.

The court was told that while at school he wasn’t exposed to pornography, but had learned from other boys what they had discovered from porn.

“It seems you thought your behaviour was OK,” Judge Morzone said.

“And you know that you have brought great shame on your family.”

The teen, now 16, was labelled a low to moderate risk of reoffending with the right supervision and education.

“He has got promising rehabilitation prospects,” Mr Sheridan said.

The court was told that in some cases periods of detention in young people can cause more harm to their prospects of rehabilitation.

Judge Morzone told the court that detention could continue the negative impacts already experienced when the defendant was away from his family at boarding school.

“I’m concerned that if you spend time in detention you will learn more bad things and come out more damaged,” Judge Morzone said.

“I”m hoping this will give you the punishment and the best chance for you to improve.”