A report in The Age tells of a two hour spree of vandalism by an eleven-year-old boy and his nine-year-old sister which resulted in a damage bill of $30,000. The report of 18 March 1998 by court reporter, Victoria Button, said that the Victorian Children’s Court was told that the children went roller-blading in the school grounds and then jemmied open a door to a partly built classroom block. Once inside, the children tipped paint on the floor, daubed it on walls, and poked holes in the plaster with a steel bar. Police followed a trail of footprints which led them to the youngster, who was then charged with trespass and property damage.
The magistrate sentenced the boy to twelve months’ probation, and arranged for a juvenile justice support worker to support the boy over the period. The magistrate further ordered the boy to accept medical treatment for attention deficit disorder.
The mother of the boy said that she hoped the new treatment would work, but feared that the court had set her son an impossible task in ordering him to stay out of trouble for a year. The report went on to say that the mother was in despair as she had been in the habit of receiving up to six or seven calls a day from her son’s school, and regular visits from the police. Two years ago, her son had burned down the family home. While she spoke to reporters, the boy leapt down stairs and whizzed up and down in a lift.