They start young in Western Australia

[James]

AN 11-year-old boy forced two pre-school-aged girls to have sex with him, infected them with sexually transmitted diseases, but will not be prosecuted by Western Australian authorities.

Police yesterday confirmed that criminal charges would not be laid against the boy from Balgo, a troubled indigenous community in the northeastern reaches of the Great Sandy Desert 100km from the Northern Territory border, despite his being above the age of criminal responsibility under state law.

Although the incident is part of a continuing investigation, senior police have decided to treat the issue as a health matter, not a criminal one.

The Australian also understands the offender was never removed from the remote community, but was warned by a court not to go near his victims, believed to be aged five and six, and several other vulnerable youngsters.

Balgo's Palyalatju Maparnpa Health Committee chief executive Christopher Cresp said the realities of outback life and the disjointed inter-agency response to such issues meant the boy could remain a danger to young girls in the area.

"If you're asking me if there are workable, practical steps in place to make sure this boy and others like him don't do this again, I must honestly say no," Mr Cresp said.

Nineteen Aboriginal men and juveniles have been charged with 39 child sex offences in just two weeks as police move methodically across the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia in a major police blitz against rampant abuse in Aboriginal communities.

In February, another 15 men from the remote Kalumburu community, in the far north of the state, were charged with 103 offences.

As public concern deepened, the federal Government offered to replicate for Western Australia the package of support it had imposed on the Northern Territory, including army support, but the offer was flatly rejected by the Carpenter Government.

Acting Premier Eric Ripper said last week he wanted financial support, federal police and Medicare-funded doctors, but not the army.

The revelation about the 11-year-old Balgo boy highlights the difficulties police, health workers and child protection officers face trying to uncover the extent of child sex abuse in communities such as Halls Creek and Kalumburu.

Aboriginal children are sexually active at an early age and detectives were trying to separate clear criminal conduct from consensual sexual activity among minors to determine which cases could be successfully prosecuted.

Kimberley Inspector Paul LaSpina was reluctant to discuss the Balgo matter, but confirmed the investigation was continuing.

He said senior police had the discretion to prosecute and although the boy was older than 10 and criminally responsible under law, those who had examined the case believed it would be better handled as a health issue and it was in the public interest to do so. He refused to elaborate.

The Australian understands the incident happened late last year.

Detective Tom Mills, who is heading the Halls Creek investigation, said there were often mitigating circumstances that were not apparent when such a decision was made.

Mr Cresp said court orders meant nothing unless they were enforced.

"Out here, quite often that responsibility rests with the family of the offender, and I can say with some authority that many families are in no position to enforce these orders," he said.

"And to warn someone of that age that they are not to go near someone else in a community this size is a nonsense. Many kids just don't see any problem with this sort of sexual behaviour."

Inter-agency and government responses to many issues facing remote communities were achieving little, Mr Cresp said. This would affect the boy's rehabilitation.

"Apart from the obvious question of why someone so young had an STD to pass on in the first place, what happens when he goes off with his family to another town and doesn't finish his treatment?" he said.

"It's carried on into adolescence and the problem as a whole just never goes away."

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22117625-2,00.html

Edited August 3, 2007 by James

[Subrick]

How lovely.

[takersfan]

lmao

[Fozy]

lmao? That's seriously fucked up.

[Joe =/]

Gross. Just gross.

[jitz]

Now in all fairness we are talking about aboriginal people in the middle of fucking nowhere. The federal government realised there was an issue with sexual abuse in the aboriginal communitues in the middle of nowhere because there simply isn't any law enforcement, these communities aren't near roads, they are in the middle of the country away from everything.

Our solution was to send the army in with guns and welfare people to educate these communities on how to act civilised. The problem is, once the army is gone, the problem will just come back. Also the problems stretch beyond sex abuse, with a lot of substance abuse with stuff like hanging buckets of methylated spirits or petrol (whatever they can afford at the time) below their heads to sniff all day. No joke.

[Subrick]

Yeah. Listen to the guy. He's actually from a place near aborigines. I think. Is South Australia near them?

[Fozy]

Oh will you fuck off subrick?

[Thom]

I know where I'm taking my vacation!! :lol

[jitz]

He's actually from a place near aborigines. I think. Is South Australia near them?

Another chance to post a map of Australia!

This map is simple but great, it shows the the states, where the Great Barrier Reef is, where Ayers Rock is, and where Shark Bay is (where you're 99% guaranteed there are sharks...but sharks are everywhere in Australia). Australia is large, we're that country that's on the bottom right hand side of world maps that in Hollywood movies, never gets invaded by aliens, or struck with nuclear warheads. If it's when of the rare movies where they noticed the land mass on the map, we're always the last to go (safest place in the world to be apparently).

Look at Western Australia, now look at the large mass of desert that occupies 60% of the state. The desert stretches into the Northern Territory and South Australia. Right in the middle of that desert, just off the Northern Territory border was where it happened. That's where it always happens. There is nothing out there, there is nothing in the Northern Territory, there is nothing in the northern part of South Australia. Most of Australia is nothing, everything is on the coast. All the cities bar Canberra are on the coast, and Canberra is only there because Sydney and Melbourne couldn't agree on which city was the country's capital city, so they built a new one right in the middle of them and made that the capital.

So yes South Australia is near where it happened, but only because the states are huge (once again, there's nothing out there, no one wants to claim it as their own). I'm in Adelaide though, so I'm still 2000km away from it. It's certainly not a day trip, especially when there's probably no roads going there.

[takersfan]

No sorry its just that the news today has such bizarre things man i just find ii eird

[Spectre]

This map is simple but great, it shows the the states,

I thought they were Territorys, Not states, as far as i know The U.S is the only Country with states, maybe Mexico i dont know i need to check a map, but anyway, kids should be wearing protection at least, but they are in the middle of no where.

[Joe =/]

I LIKED YOUR POST CHRIS. Teach me more.

[jitz]

I CAN JOE, LOOK AT THIS!

I thought they were Territorys, Not states, as far as i know The U.S is the only Country with states, maybe Mexico i dont know i need to check a map

You're wrong! Australia has 6 states and 2 territories. The territories are clearly labelled on the map as it's in their names, the rest are states. Next time don't go questioning whether I know if the country I live in has states, I live in one.

[Fozy]

That's such a lie.

[RingMaster2001]

This map is simple but great, it shows the the states,

I thought they were Territorys, Not states, as far as i know The U.S is the only Country with states, maybe Mexico i dont know i need to check a map, but anyway, kids should be wearing protection at least, but they are in the middle of no where.

Germany has states, as Chris said, so does Australia, and so did the USSR.

But of course, the US is the only country in the world.

[Nemo]

PIMP

[Spectre]

I CAN JOE, LOOK AT THIS!

I thought they were Territorys, Not states, as far as i know The U.S is the only Country with states, maybe Mexico i dont know i need to check a map

You're wrong! Australia has 6 states and 2 territories. The territories are clearly labelled on the map as it's in their names, the rest are states. Next time don't go questioning whether I know if the country I live in has states, I live in one.

Sry i should have put that in a question form, i dont know everything about the world, nor do i care, only News i care about is stuff that goes on in NY, and some in the other states. Only real fact i know about Australia, is that its a Contienent-Country.

[Fozy]

That statement is the reason everyone hates americans, so self-absorbed.

[Spectre]

Iain I somewhat hate America too we have a shit President, and Oil prices are get way to high it annoying, but every Country has its Probelms, Also im not Self Abosorbed, im a New Yorker its a probelm we all have.

[jitz]

Nah, Iain is right. Your statement is reason why Americans are turning into a joke around the world. You're only taught about America, its partially not your fault, it's partly your education systems fault. I had to learn about international relations, world geography, world history, and the different morals and ethics in each country. You don't let out a huge burp in Germany, it's considered extremely rude, but you can fart.

The world is bigger than New York, there are far better places in the world than New York. You just have no interest to look outside your own country because you're taught to be so shut off. American patriotism this, American flag that.

Iain I somewhat hate America too we have a shit President, and Oil prices are get way to high it annoying, but every Country has its Probelms

Every country around the world is dealing with high oil prices, you think it's just America paying those insane prices? We are all having to deal with it. You've got to understand though that your President isn't making all these decisions you're not liking, he's a figure head, somewhat of a scapegoat even. He's got far more intelligent people behind the scenes pulling the strings of the country, don't believe the un-educated "musicians" that have brought out 5000 different anti-Bush songs. He didn't make the decision for your country to go to war, don't blame him.

So it comes down to what the world has been saying about America for decades - ignorant Americans.

[RingMaster2001]

Well done lads, I ain't got to step in at all here, you 2 did well enough.

[takersfan]

Well here in canada we have high ass taxes so america isnt that bad

[RingMaster2001]

No Canada is bad for being Canada.

[RingMaster2001]

No Canada is bad for being Canada.

Said twice for extra effect.

Edited August 6, 2007 by WWFSTUFF