QLD: Pregnant girl released from custody

AAP General News (Australia)
12-30-1999
QLD: Pregnant girl released from custody

By Janelle Miles and Rosemary Desmond

BRISBANE, Dec 30 AAP - A pregnant 13-year-old girl who was locked up in an adult watchhouse
for 14 hours this week will be released from custody tonight.

Queensland Supreme Court judge George Fryberg described the girl, who is 18 weeks'
pregnant, as a thief, a vagabond and a ruffian with an astonishing criminal history for
a person so young.

But he told the court a child her age should not be in detention unless it was absolutely
unavoidable.

He granted her bail under strict conditions including that she reside with her carers
in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, and only leave their home under their supervision.

She was also ordered to abstain from alcohol.

According to documents before the court, the girl was arrested in her pyjamas at 6.20pm
(AEST) not far from her Toowoomba home on Tuesday, 20 minutes outside a court-imposed
curfew.

The girl was under a 6pm to 9am curfew after being charged earlier this month with
property and assault offences, including an assault on the female police officer who arrested
her for the curfew breach.

The child, who cannot be named, was held at the Toowoomba watchhouse on Tuesday night,
then transferred to Brisbane's Sir Leslie Wilson Detention Centre after a magistrate yesterday
remanded her in custody until January 6.

But Justice Fryberg revoked that decision today, despite describing her as a menace
when left unsupervised.

Barrister Scott Lynch, for the girl, criticised police during today's bail hearing
saying she had been forcibly strip-searched by a police woman wearing surgical gloves
last week even though police were aware she was pregnant.

He said that incident had led to the child being charged with assault and obstructing police.

But Justice Fryberg said he could understand police wanting to search the girl, who
he said could have been carrying a knife and used it to injure herself.

He said information before the court suggested the girl punched the police officer
in the face with a clenched fist.

"(That) doesn't sound like someone who's too concerned with their pregnancy," he said.

Nevertheless, the judge described the child's circumstances as sad and said her breach
of bail conditions on Tuesday was trivial.

In an affadavit before the court, the girl said she did not realise she was outside
her curfew when arrested.

"I was not ... committing an offence at the time," she said.

"I am not particularly good at keeping time and am sometimes ignorant of specific times."

Australian Civil Liberties Council president Terry O'Gorman said he could not understand
why the girl had been locked up for breaking her curfew.

"It's beyond my comprehension," he said.

"It's a misuse and an abuse of justice."

Mr O'Gorman said he would be lodging an official complaint with Police Minister Tom
Barton and with the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC).

AAP jhm/rad/jfs e

KEYWORD: PREGNANT SECOND NIGHTLEAD

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