NONE of the alleged gang rapists who brutally attacked a five-year-old boy on a remote beach will be charged and will get COUNSELLING instead - while one is so young he can’t be held criminally responsible
- Five-year-old boy allegedly gang raped on a remote beach in North Queensland
- His accused attackers are all under 13 and won't be charged or face prosecution
- The boy had to be airlifted to Cairns Hospital for emergency medical treatment
- Locals say the situation has reopened wounds from a previous sex crime nearby
- The alleged offenders will be dealt with under the process of 'restorative justice'
- The unorthodox legal tactic normally involves counselling and an apology
Four children under the age of 13 accused of brutally raping a five-year old boy on a remote beach in an Aboriginal community in Far North Queensland will not be charged or face prosecution.
The attack unfolded at Napranum, on the north-west coast of Cape York, on July 1, police allege.
One of the alleged offenders is under the age of ten and cannot be held criminally responsible, while the other three boys are aged between ten and 13.
The alleged attack was so violent the five-year-old required emergency medical treatment and was airlifted to Cairns Hospital, some 800km away.
The four boys accused of the July 1 attack, which allegedly occurred on the north-west coast of Cape York at a remote beach in Napranum (pictured), have been taken into custody
But due to the extremely young age of the alleged offenders in Napranum, police can use their discretion to determine how they proceed.
In this case, the four boys will be dealt with under the process of 'restorative justice'.
The unorthodox tactic is commonly used in indigenous communities and normally involves extensive counselling, a mediated meeting with the victim's family and an apology to the victim.
Community members said the disturbing allegations have torn several families apart and reopened wounds from a shocking sex crime that happened 15 years earlier.
Napranum is considered one of the most deprived areas in Queensland with high levels of crime and unemployment in the 900-strong community.
The mother of the alleged victim fell pregnant with him before she had even reached her teens, The Australian reported.
According to the 2016 Census, there were 907 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people living in Napranum (pictured: Children of Napranum play. There is no suggestion the children pictured are involved in the case)
A Queensland Police spokesman confirmed none of the alleged attackers would face criminal court.
'Under the provisions of the Youth Justice Act, the Queensland Police Service have a number of avenues to consider, including Children’s Court, alternative diversion programs, conferencing and restorative justice processes,' the spokesman said.
'The action taken by police is based on evidence garnered throughout the investigative process and is reviewed by senior police prior to the commencement of any action.
'This action also considers giving the offender the best opportunity of rehabilitation and reducing the risk of repeat offending.'
Paintings on a public block at sporting fields in Napranum (pictured) near where the attack took place
'There are big arguments about how this happened,' one local said.
'It is creating big problems in the town. It is not the first time something like this has happened.'
The neighbouring community of Aurukun, about 40km south of Napranum, was at the centre of nationwide outrage in 2006 when a ten-year-old girl was gang raped by nine men aged between 13 and 25.
The young girl was born to an alcoholic mother and suffered from a mild intellectual disability.
Although the men all pleaded guilty to a litany of sexual offences, the judge spared them jail time and said the victim 'probably agreed' to have sex with them.
She ruled the men were also victims themselves after growing up deprived and subjected to physical and sexual abuse at the hands of others in their community.
No convictions were recorded in the horrifying case, sparking fury across Australia.
The alleged gang rape of a five-year-old boy has reopened wounds from a shocking sex crime 15 years earlier in nearby Aurukun
Then Prime Minster Kevin Rudd expressed his anger at the court's decision at the time.
'I'm disgusted and appalled by the reports that I've seen in today's newspapers on this case,' Mr Rudd said.
'My attitude of violence towards women and children, including sexual violence towards women and children, is one of zero tolerance.'
The alleged Napranum gang rape is the latest of a series of horrifying cases in remote Aboriginal communities.
A 27-year-old man was sentenced to 13 years in prison in March for raping a two-year-old girl in Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory while her mother was sleeping in a crime that shocked Australia.
The toddler suffered severe internal injuries in the 2018 attack and had to be flown to an Adelaide hospital where she underwent a blood transfusion.
Sources said the injuries inflicted upon the alleged victim were so horrific he had to be airlifted to Cairns Hospital (pictured) for emergency medical treatment
Remote Tennant Creek (pictured) in the Northern Territory where the horrific child rape of a two-year-old occurred in 2018
Such incidents have raised concerns about child safety in remote Indigenous communities.
In 2016, a Griffith University study headed by Professor Stephen Smallbone examined the prevalence of sexual abuse in Indigenous North Queensland communities.
It found sex crimes in Aurukun were occurring at a rate 6.6 times higher than the rest of Queensland, with the average age of victims just 14.
The report also revealed that sexually transmitted diseases were spreading at an alarming rate.
Syphilis infections were detected to be 56 times above the state average.
The report found 29 children younger than ten had contracted the sexually transmitted disease.
The boys accused of the gang rape have been removed from the community for fear of retribution.
Napranum (pictured), which translates to 'meeting place', was long known as one of Queensland's most disadvantaged communities despite being 6km from mining town Weipa
Comments 0
Share what you think
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
