Detention warning for teenager charged over terrifying Port Kennedy kidnapping, attack on girl posted online

A 16-year-old girl accused of committing a terrifying kidnapping with her mother that was filmed and posted online has been warned she faces detention over the “extremely serious” attack. The disturbing footage showed the 17-year-old victim crying out for help after being punched multiple times, grabbed by her hair and thrown in a car in Port Kennedy on September 1. Once inside the car, the girl was filmed with blood pouring down her face, screaming “leave me alone” and “no, please, don’t take my stuff”. The younger girl and her 35-year-old mother were each charged with deprivation of liberty, aggravated assault occasioning bodily harm and aggravated robbery. The 16-year-old appeared in Perth Children’s Court on Friday via videolink from Banksia Hill Detention Centre and stormed off camera after Magistrate Sarah Dewsbury denied her bail. Earlier, the prosecutor revealed the girl had an arrest warrant out after failing to attend court on August 30 over a similar, midnight attack on a kissing couple at Perth Cultural Centre in December. It left the pair with bruised eye sockets and the male needing five stitches. Like the Port Kennedy incident, it was allegedly a group assault, the female was punched in the face, had her hair pulled and robbed. It was also filmed. The prosecutor said the teen had only a “relatively limited” criminal record until then, and the two attacks represented an “escalation” in alleged offending, with her taking a “principle role”. He said the complainant in the latest incident had a relationship with a cousin of the accused girl — labelling her a “vigilante” in that situation. The prosecutor said the accused teen had posted on Facebook about the attack, writing: “She’s a delusional junk rat who needed to be put in her place”. Another post read: “Got punched into by me . . . mum never touched her”. The prosecutor said the complainant was “highly distressed” while detained against her will for about 10 minutes, shoved down into the rear footwell of the car, and suffered significant facial injuries. The victim said she couldn’t breathe during the assault and after dropping her phone while eventually climbing into the front of the car, faced demands for her password. In another video, the victim can be heard pleading for the male driver — who police and the prosecutor said was forced to drive around — to stop the vehicle. The accused teen had “a complex personal background”, her lawyer submitted, witnessing her mother suffering domestic violence for several years. That had left her with potentially undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder. The lawyer pointed to a report from detention that indicated her client appeared “to be recognising that her conduct was wrong”, adding she was accomplished at a sport at the State level and “her old team are really keen to assist her”. However, the lawyer conceded: “This a really serious allegation”. Ms Dewsbury said the girl’s “interaction with her mother is a great deal of concern” and she did not see how it was possible to order they have no contact as a bail condition, given both proposed residing in the home of the same relative. “These are extremely serious offences and I would say the strength of the prosecution case is at a very high level,” the magistrate said. “Without hearing more, a sentence of detention is likely.” The girl is due back in court on Monday. At the mother’s brief appearance at Rockingham Courthouse last weekend, she did not apply for bail. She also faces 13 fraud charges from December and as such, has to demonstrate exceptional circumstances to be granted bail. The woman is next due in court on September 30. 1800 RESPECT Kid’s Helpline 1800 55 1800