Teenagers given second chance after convictions set aside
A BOY who broke the law 24 hours after he was released from detention and a teenage girl who was a heavy drug user are among children who have been given a second chance by the courts.
The Townsville children were among three offenders who had their punishments overturned in the Childrens Court of Queensland last week.
A 15-year-old boy who was found in the driver’s seat of a stolen vehicle on April 10 had his three-month detention sentence overturned.
He was caught just 24 hours after being released from 77 days in custody.
The court heard he was 12 years old when he started to rebel from his “loving home” and began mixing with the wrong crowd.
He dropped out of school last year and started using meth, but had showed the courts he was capable of empathy. His sentence was set aside and he was ordered to participate in a restorative justice program where he will meet and speak with his victim.
A 17-year-old girl had her recorded conviction successfully appealed for stealing fuel.
In November last year, she was a passenger in a sedan that pulled up at a petrol station.
The girl got out of the car
Get hooked on THE OTHER MRS by Mary Kubica on us. and put $61.88 worth of fuel in without paying. Her lengthy criminal history, which started when she was 15, was a factor in her original sentence result.
The original magistrate recorded convictions as the girl had been given too many chances before and had a disregard for others.
Before being taken into custody for 71 days, the girl was using large amounts of drugs.
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She used her time behind bars wisely, getting counselling and an understanding of her actions on the cusp of adulthood.
Judge Deborah Richards said it was these positive steps that did not give enough weight to recording convictions.
Her recorded convictions were set aside.
Another application is in the works to appeal her detention sentence.
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