Teen pleads guilty to murder of grandmother Vyleen White
Vyleen Joan White was stabbed in a car park of a shopping centre in Redbank Plains, west of Brisbane, in February 2024.
Her death sparked community outrage, and prompted the then-Labor state government to change bail laws for juveniles.
The teenager, who cannot be named under youth justice laws, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
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ABC News
4 hours ago
- ABC News
Trial of former teacher Keith Bates-Willie, accused of child sexual abuse crimes, continues
A witness in the Supreme Court trial of a 71-year-old former Hobart teacher, accused of indecently touching numerous students, has broken down in court while giving evidence. WARNING: This story includes descriptions of alleged child sexual abuse, which some readers may find distressing. Keith Athol Bates-Willie has pleaded not guilty to 14 criminal charges, including rape, indecent assault and the persistent sexual abuse of a child at three separate Hobart schools between the late 1970s and the early 2000s. The former student at a high school in Tasmania's south, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court he first met Mr Bates in year 7 when he was his teacher. "I became a favoured student for Mr Bates … as I was very obedient, I was fearful of not doing what I was asked to do," he told the court. "He would often adjust my uniform, tuck me in, etc, under the guise of being presentable and doing the right thing, even though the fashion wasn't to have your shirt tucked in so it was just an invasion of my personal space." The witness was brought to tears while recalling several incidents he alleged occured while he was a student. He told the court there was a small cupboard-like storeroom where he alleged Mr Bates would often ask him to go into and find "the striped paint" — which he told the court later became an understood codeword for waiting in the storeroom. "I'd wait until he came in," he said. "He'd push his body into me, we were fully clothed, he'd push me against the wall and over time that became more and more inappropriate and more severe." The witness said over time, he was asked to take off his trousers and "touch his toes" while in the cupboard. Crown prosecutor Jack Shapiro asked the witness "are you able to recall a time when another boy was in there with you?", to which he replied, "I was told to touch my toes and I knew that meant I needed to drop my trousers… it was uncommon for another student to be there." He alleged "Mr Bates was masturbating … there'd be like a cloth rubbing sound." Mr Shapiro asked if his genitals had ever been touched by Mr Bates, to which he responded "yes". In her cross-examination, Mr Bates' lawyer, Jessie Sawyer, told the court the witness had made up the allegations and that the cupboard was too small for two people to be in. "That's an obscene thing to say, I was there, you weren't," the witness replied. Another former student gave evidence in the trial and alleged while he was a student at a Hobart school, he was sexually assaulted numerous times by Mr Bates and groomed for years. He alleged he was groped and molested by Mr Bates in the 1980s on at least three separate occasions — in a costume room, in a spa and while on holiday. Ms Sawyer suggested to him, he only come forward with the accusations to bolster the statements of his friends after hearing other students had come forward. He replied, "No, that's incorrect, that's absolutely ridiculous". The trial, before Justice Stephen Estcourt, is expected to run for two to three weeks.
7NEWS
4 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Northern Territory to reintroduce ‘dangerous' spit hoods in youth detention centres
A controversial plan to reinstate spit hoods in a crime -troubled territory's youth detention centres has come under fire, with critics calling it a 'dangerous tactic'. But the Northern Territory government has defended the move as part of its youth justice overhaul. Spit hoods are set to return to NT youth detention centres for the first time in almost 10 years as part of youth justice measures debated by the territory parliament this week. The Country Liberal Party government has vowed to table the youth justice legislation 'on urgency' after a 15-year-old was stabbed and seriously injured in front of shocked onlookers at the Royal Darwin Show on Saturday. A 15-year-old has been charged, with police alleging the teen knew the victim. The NT Police Force confirmed in October that spit hoods had been made available to use on youths in police watch houses and cells, with strict protocols. The proposed youth justice law changes would extend the use of the hoods to youth detention centres, reversing a ban imposed eight years ago. Aboriginal Affairs Minister Steve Edgington defended the move, saying they were already being used in adult settings. 'When young people come into custody that are spitting, biting their tongue and spitting blood at correctional officers, we want to ensure that our frontline staff are protected,' he told reporters on Tuesday. 'We're hoping that we will never need to use these.' The CLP promised during the NT election in 2024 to reintroduce spit hoods for youth detainees. An ABC Four Corners report into the NT's Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in 2016 prompted outrage over the use of spit hoods and led to then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announcing a royal commission into juvenile justice in the territory. The NT government stopped the use of spit hoods and restraint chairs in youth detention centres in 2017, following the federal government's formal endorsement of a United Nations protocol against torture and inhumane punishments. In 2022, the use of spit hoods for youths in police custody was also banned by the then-NT Labor government. A return of spit hoods at youth detention centres has been slammed by advocacy groups who say it breaches international law, will traumatise children and not lead to safer communities. Justice Reform Initiative executive director Mindy Sotiri told AAP the use of spit hoods was known to seriously harm children and increase the likelihood of reoffending. 'When children are mistreated in places of detention they come out of prison much more disconnected, much more traumatised,' she said. Prison guards were being given the power to use devices that were internationally recognised as 'cruel, degrading and inhumane', the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services said. Chair Karly Warner said children as young as 10 would be subject to the 'dangerous tactic' when they most needed care, support and guidance. NT Children's Commissioner Shahleena Musk said the territory was the only Australian jurisdiction reverting to using spit hoods on children. 'This is against international law and is incredibly risky,' she told the ABC. 'It has actually led to deaths in custody in other jurisdictions.' NT Opposition Leader Selina Uibo described the youth crime overhaul as 'rushed, knee-jerk laws'. She said Labor needed more information about the safety difference between spit hoods and the new guards. Other proposed legislative changes by the NT government include considering a youth's full criminal history when sentencing for adult offences and removing detention as a last resort. Youth justice officers will have greater powers to use reasonable force to 'maintain safety and prevent escapes'.
AU Financial Review
5 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
Too good to be true: Sydney exec testifies in $253m Perth fraud trial
The investors who entrusted him with more than a quarter of a billion dollars say Chris Marco held himself out to be an experienced businessman – a leprechaun who could take them to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Only there was no pot of gold, prosecutor Steven Whybrow, SC, told the Western Australian Supreme Court, just a flimsy scheme kept afloat by the flow of funds being used to pay off old investors that was taking on water fast.
