Boy, 12, on sex assault charge at Jamberoo Action Park
By David Barrett
The Daily Telegraph
January 06, 2009 12:00am
DRESSED smartly, this 12-year-old strode from the courthouse yesterday having pleaded not guilty to the sexual assault of a girl aged just 15 years.
After first covering his head with a piece of paper, the boy confidently revealed his face - and smirked for the camera. The youth, who can not be identified, faces one charge of aggravated sexual assault after an incident during a school excursion last month.
"Middle Eastern" aka. "The Usual suspects" charged with Rape at Sydney theme park.
Police allege the youth used his hand to assault the 15-year-old high school student from the Illawarra area in a swimming pool at Jamberoo Action Park. A second youth, aged 15, has also been charged with aggravated sexual assault after allegedly attacking the same girl.
The older youth also faces one aggravated indecent assault charge against a second girl whose backside he allegedly "groped . . . under her costume". Yesterday, both boys pleaded not guilty to the charges at Port Kembla Children's Court.
They sat silently in the court, dressed in business shirts and pants and supported by their fathers. The 12-year-old boy's lawyer, Mohammed Masri, told the court his client would need to have his bail conditions changed before returning to school. "My client will be recommencing the school year in February, so I'm instructed to ask to have his reporting conditions changed," he said.
Children's Magistrate Graham Blewitt ordered the youths to report to police every Monday.
Manager of the NSW Rape Crisis Centre, Karen Willis, said yesterday that juvenile victims of sexual assault suffered similar trauma to adult victims. "Trauma is trauma - it really doesn't matter what the age is," she told The Daily Telegraph.
Friday 12 Dec.2008
"Sexual assault always has an impact, with victims experiencing fear, anger or a form of hypertension. "There are always special circumstances but it doesn't matter if you are young or old. "We all experience trauma in much the same way." Police arrested the pair after stopping their school bus at Mount Ousley as it returned from Jamberoo.
The boys, both of Middle Eastern descent, are students at a high school in Sydney's west. Police arrested three other youths on the bus, but they were released without charge.
Ms Willis said most sex offenders began their crimes between the ages of 15 and 17 years. She added that victims of sexual assault could recover from trauma with the right support from family and solid counselling. "It's not a death sentence - recovery can, and does, happen," she said. "But we should never underestimate the impact of sexual assault." Mr Blewitt adjourned the matter to the same court on February 16.
