Victim to pay for damage

A FURIOUS and out-of-control teenager took out his anger on a car parked in a Rockhampton street.

He jumped on the bonnet, across the roof and kicked viciously at the rear bumper.

When he had finished, the car was a wreck.

In court in Rockhampton, the 16-year-old was charged with causing wilful damage.

He admitted his guilt and was given a good behaviour bond.

No conviction was recorded.

But it’s the fact that no compensation order was made that has destroyed a Berserker woman’s faith in the criminal justice system.

“He got off scot free, but I am now the owner of a car that is completely useless, cost $4000 to repair the bodywork, and that’s money I don’t have,” she said.

The woman, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, said her 1989 Mitsubishi Magna stood as a symbol of what was wrong with the method of coping with juvenile crime.

“If he can’t afford to pay for the repair because he is only 16, why weren’t his parents made to pay restitution?” she asked.