A teenage victim who was almost killed after being repeatedly attacked by a gang of youths has hit out at the justice system saying his attackers are too young to know right from wrong.
The 15-year-old male victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was allegedly attacked by the group in the car park of a shopping center on Sydney’s Northern Beaches on March 18, 2024, while on his way home from school.
In the alleged racially motivated attack, the teenager received as many as 60 blows to the head while being ‘repeatedly stomped’. It was allegedly filmed and shared on social media.
Police allege the gang then returned with Tasers and knives, and used the Tasers to shock the 15-year-old in the back and leg, before a stranger ‘stopped her car to save his life’.
Despite doctors saying the teenager would have died had he not been wearing a bicycle helmet, the 13-year-old alleged gang leader had several serious charges dropped against him.
The 15-year-old is said to have been the victim of a racially motivated attack on Sydney’s northern beaches (pictured). Charges were dropped against the gang’s 13-year-old leader due to his age and because he did not know the difference between right and wrong in the eyes of the law
The victim’s parents have begged NSW Premier Chris Minns (pictured) to change the law
The victim and his family were told that due to the perpetrator’s young age, he was ‘incapable of forming criminal intent’ and could not tell right from wrong under NSW’s ‘doli incapax’ laws.
Doli incapax ‘assumes that a child between the ages of 10 and 14 does not have the necessary knowledge to have criminal intent, that is, the child is incapable of committing a crime due to a lack of understanding of the difference between good and evil ‘.
But the victim said he wanted NSW Premier Chris Minns to change the law “so other victims don’t have to be let down by the system”, reported The Daily Telegraph.
“At the age of 13, a teenager should be able to tell right from wrong,” the victim said.
‘Especially if they have been repeatedly charged and spoken to by the police. All teenagers know that it is criminal to viciously attack another person.
“I hope this will bring about a change in the law.”
The teenager now says he is a prisoner in his own home and is receiving death threats from the gang.
The victim also said that “as an eight-year-old” he knew the difference between right and wrong.
The teenager’s mother has written to the Prime Minister asking him to change the law.
“While on bail for the attack on our son, he has continued to commit other serious crimes, including another serious attack on a child,” she wrote.
“These additional charges have yet to go to hearing. By comparison, a 16-year-old attacker was immediately given a five-month prison sentence.
“We want to bring this to your attention as an example of our broken justice system,” she wrote.
NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley (pictured) said the NSW government is taking youth crime “seriously” and has recently “tightened the laws”.
“Our son has received repeated death threats since the attack and must be escorted to and from school for his safety.
‘Victims and police have had enough of these young perpetrators knowing they are untouchable and literally capable of getting away with murder.’
The mother said her son’s attack could be “a catalyst for change.”
NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley described the details of the attack as “disturbing” to The Daily Telegraph.
Mr Daley said the Government had “tightened up” the laws this year and was “taking youth crime seriously”.
The NSW Attorney General said in NSW the minimum age of criminal responsibility is 10, but says this does not give children a ‘free pass’ as this is something that can be rebutted if a child is proven to have the seriousness of their crime understood. .
In the past, the Supreme Court of Australia has previously recognized that children as young as ten have the capacity to understand the serious wrongness of their actions.