Premier dodges questions after more than 100 charges against teen dropped

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has dodged questions about the thresholds for criminal responsibility among young people after more than 100 charges were dropped against a 14-year-old girl.

The 14-year-old girl faced 109 charges over an alleged two-month series of incidents, including some alleged anti-Semitic attacks. She was denied bail in April due to the seriousness of her alleged crimes.

Police dropped the charges today after the prosecutor failed to reach the legal threshold of Doli incapax that the girl, who was 13 at the time of the alleged crimes, was capable of committing a criminal offense.

“The charge was dropped because the police prosecutor was unable to rebut the statutory presumption that a child aged 13 and under is incapable of committing an offence,” a Victoria Police spokesperson told 9News.

“This is a high legal threshold that requires the prosecutor to prove that the child knew his behavior was seriously morally wrong.”

The Prime Minister today agreed that the teenager’s behavior was “far out of line with community expectations”.

“As a parent it’s quite shocking to think that there are children that age exhibiting this kind of behavior and it shows them the consequences of what happens if you continue down that path,” says Allan.

“That kind of behavior is absolutely unacceptable and that is why we have tightened the bail laws, and that is why we have introduced adult crime time.”

But Allan and Victorian Attorney General Sonya Kilkenny both declined to comment on why the teenager was released.

“As to the details of the individual or individual lawsuit, I have not been informed of this,” Allan said.

“I must seek further advice and get back to you.”

Asked whether the government would consider reviewing the Doli incapax ruling, Kilkenny said she was “not here to make an announcement on these matters”.

“Every case is different with every victim, with every perpetrator we are talking about different circumstances. That is why it is so important not to look at individual cases, but to look at the system as a whole,” said Kilkenny.

Police claimed that the girl’s search history showed that prior to some offenses she had Googled “how long is the punishment for running someone over”, as well as “where do Jews live”.

“If you’re old enough to google the punishment, then you should definitely be old enough to take the punishment,” said opposition spokesman David Southwick.

“I think this young man would be laughing at Victoria and our justice system right now.”

In one incident on March 30, the girl was allegedly behind the wheel of a stolen car in Brighton, in Melbourne’s south-east, and tried to hit a cyclist with the car’s passenger door.

The court heard about other alleged incidents targeting Jewish people, including anti-Semitic comments against pedestrians in Hampton, Ripponlea and Caulfield, and swerving at a Jewish family in Ripponlea in March – causing them to run for cover.

Victoria Police stressed that despite the charges being dropped, the concerns of the Jewish community are still being taken into account.

“We understand the concern these incidents have caused in the community, especially among members of the Jewish community,” the spokesperson said.

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