Sickening attack on 13-year-old raises questions over Queensland’s ‘adult crime, adult time’ laws

The mother of a 13-year-old girl allegedly bashed and left unconscious by two other teenage girls, who allegedly shared a video of the attack online, has questioned whether Queensland’s much-touted “adult crime, adult time” laws are working.

Her daughter was allegedly set upon by the teenagers while she walked to the shops to get snacks for a sleepover on a Friday night.

“And I look to my side, and I see an Uber, and then I look, and it’s three girls in there, and they yell out ... swearing,” the girl told A Current Affair.

She claims she recognised the trio.

“So I like start sprinting out of the way to escape the situation, and I just get slammed to the concrete,” she said.

“My head starts getting stomped on, and I can just like feel myself getting dragged around like pushed over.”

While it’s not clear who’s behind the camera, this video was taken just after the incident, which lasted for between five and 10 minutes.

The alleged attack only stopped when witnesses stepped in and called the child’s mother, who was nearby. “It broke me,” the girl’s mother told A Current Affair, choking back tears.

“She looked like she’d been hit by a car. My partner was with me and it until he spoke to some of the witnesses, he thought she’d also been hit by car.

“She was going in and out of consciousness and ... there’s no words that can describe the pain and the shock and the trauma.

“If people hadn’t stopped ... she wouldn’t be here with you right now.“Adding to this family’s trauma, the distressing video of the aftermath of the alleged attack has been shared on social media with sickening commentary.

“It’s further harrassment and she’s already been through enough – she doesn’t deserve to have this kind of thing spread over social media and making her feel even more dragged down,” the mother said.

The 13-year-old only discovered the video on social media after a friend messaged and offered to share it with her.

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“It’s just inhumane - her covered in blood and stumbling and helpess,” the mother said.Police have arrested two girls over the incident.

One is 16 and will face court on assault charges at the end of the month.

The other is 13 – too young to go before a magistrate.

Instead, she’ll be dealt with under Queensland’s Youth Justice Act.

“This needs to stop,” the mother told A Current Affair when reflecting on why she was sharing her daughter’s story.

“Adult crime, adult time, it needs to be actioned appropriately.

“There needs to be a massive change because it’s not just my daughter. There’s other young people that are having the same thing done to them.”