Aborigines in the News! - "racism or genetics?"

Abo kids act out porn films

Indigenous child abuse a national disgrace, says Brough

The Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister says the findings of a report into child sex abuse in Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory are an absolute disgrace.

The grim report, released in Darwin today, outlines 97 recommendations and points to alcohol and a lack of education as the biggest contributors to child sex abuse.

The report found Indigenous children are acting out what they have seen in pornographic material and it recommends the tightening of pornography legislation.

Mal Brough says child protection is a state and territory responsibility despite the Commonwealth already injecting $130 million into the problem.

"This is a national disgrace, it's a disaster and it is something that should never happen in this country," he said.

"We should all find it absolutely abhorrent and should be doing everything in our power to fix it."

Mr Brough has also refused to back down from his comments that paedophile rings are operating in Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory.

The report outlines allegations of sex trades and juvenile prostitution but does not mention paedophile rings.

Mal Brough disagrees and says you just have to look at the evidence.

"In the last two months, 13 out of [an] approximate adult population of 90 have been charged with child sex offences against children as young as three with the main offence being penetration of a girl under 13," he said.

The Northern Territory's Chief Minister, Clare Martin, says it will take at least six weeks before she will respond fully to the report, to allow talks with the Commonwealth to get under way.

Inquiry co-chair Pat Anderson has blamed an abundance of alcohol and a lack of education as the major contributors to child sex abuse.

"Where there is unemployment, poverty, alcoholism, drug taking, overcrowding, unemployment, you can guarantee that those children are severely at risk and eventually going to be sexually abused or abused in some way, and that's what's happening," she said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200706/s1952739.htm
 
Accused cop denies intentional harm - ABO DIE, COP BANGING ON DRUMS'

http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,21911161-5005940,00.html


Accused cop denies intentional harm


June 15, 2007 05:21pm

QUEENSLAND - AUSTRALIA

THE Queensland police officer accused of killing a man in custody on Palm Island says he has come to terms with the fact he caused the death, but strongly denies any intention to cause harm.

In an unexpected move, Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley took the stand at his manslaughter trial in the Townsville Supreme Court today to give his version of what happened on November 19, 2004, the day Mulrunji Doomadgee was found dead in a cell at the north Queensland island's watchhouse.

Asked by prosecutor Peter Davis SC if he had come to terms with the fact that he had caused the death of the 36-year-old man, Snr-Sgt Hurley responded: "Yes".

Despite earlier telling officers investigating the death he had fallen beside Mulrunji during a scuffle at the doorway of the watchhouse, Snr-Sgt Hurley today conceded he must have landed on top of him.

However, he described the incident as "a grey area" and said he had only changed his mind after hearing evidence from medical experts.

Experts have said the fatal injuries suffered by Mulrunji were likely to have been caused by a "complicated fall" in which Snr-Sgt Hurley landed on top of the deceased with his knee protruding.

Pathologist Guy Lampe earlier told the court Mulrunji died of internal bleeding after his liver was split in two and his portal vein burst as a result of the application of "moderate to significant force" to his upper abdomen.

"If I didn't know the medical evidence or the evidence that's been heard by the court this week I would sit here today and tell you I fell beside him," Snr-Sgt Hurley told the court.

"I have to accept that because of what the doctors have said."

However, he strongly denied intentionally injuring Mulrunji by performing a knee-drop on him.

"I can say with 100 per cent certainly and honestly that I did not do that," Snr-Sgt Hurley said.

"I did not intentionally do anything to harm Mr Doomadgee."

He also denied an accusation from Mr Davis that he lied about the incident to investigating officers.

However, Snr-Sgt Hurley said he could have covered himself with a lie if he had intentionally caused the injuries.

"I could have easily gotten myself out of this ... if I'd been the type of person to do that I could have made up a lie," he said.

He said he felt "emotional and upset" after Mulrunji was found lying dead on the floor of the watchhouse cell, although he initially believed the death may have been caused by a heart condition.

"I was upset because at that time he was the exact same age as me (36)," Snr-Sgt Hurley said.

"I was just very distressed about it because I knew he had a partner, she'd come up to the station with the young one."

Snr-Sgt Hurley earlier told the court he had arrested Mulrunji because he had sworn at police liaison officer Lloyd Bengaroo as he walked down a street heavily intoxicated.

Snr-Sgt Hurley also testified that he had difficulty restraining Mulrunji as he attempted to force him from a police van into the watchhouse and that they fell hard onto the floor after tripping on a step at the doorway.

However, he said that after the fall Mulrunji showed no signs of being seriously injured, even though he needed to be dragged by the wrists into the cell.

"I thought he was foxing it, I thought he just didn't want to go into the cell," Snr-Sgt Hurley said.

Mr Davis and defence barrister Bob Mullholland QC finished calling evidence today and the jury is expected to hear their closing statements on Monday.
 
Abo abuse report proves me right: 'WRONG WAY MATE'

http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,21911721-5005940,00.html

Abuse report proves me right:


June 15, 2007 06:36pm


AUSTRALIA

INDIGENOUS Affairs Minister Mal Brough has said a report into sexual abuse in indigenous communities justifies his claims that pedophile rings were operating in some of the settlements.

His comments follow today's release of a report into child sex abuse in the Northern Territory which showed abuse was happening in every Aboriginal community visited by the inquiry.

Releasing the inquiry report in Darwin today, co-chair Pat Anderson said young children were being exposed to pornography and then later imitating the actions with each other.

They also were sexually abused by both indigenous and non-indigenous adults, she said.

The report does not back Mr Brough's claims of organised pedophile rings but he says that is not important.

"This report, itself, goes to issues of potentially selling children, juvenile prostitution and sex trade," Mr Brough told ABC radio.

"The fact that I was told I was grandstanding 15 months ago, we have 15 months where we could have been helping people.

"If people are going to get hung up about that term and if that term and the ridicule that I copped for making it has been one of the drivers (for highlighting the issue) ... then I'll take all of that on the chin."

Opposition indigenous affairs spokeswoman Jenny Macklin said no child deserved to be trapped in the conditions outlined in the report.

Ms Macklin said education was the way out of abuse.

"As the report has highlighted, children are safe at school and education gives them the chance to escape the social and economic problems that contribute to violence," she said.

"Education is the greatest opportunity indigenous children and their families have to end cycles of abuse and neglect."
 
'Sugar' Ray free to sue Laws - 'ABO TAKING ON WHITE LAW'

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22011011-662,00.html

'Sugar' Ray free to sue Laws

July 03, 2007 12:00am


AUSTRALIA

CONTROVERSIAL indigenous figure "Sugar" Ray Robinson has won a bid to pursue defamation action against high profile radio announcer John Laws.

Mr Robinson, the former deputy chairman of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, alleges Mr Laws defamed him in a string of broadcasts aired on 2UE radio in 1995 and 1996.

In the Supreme Court in Brisbane today, Justice Martin Moynihan dismissed an application, lodged by lawyers for Mr Laws, seeking to strike out the long-running case Mr Robinson first brought against the radio host in 1995.

Justice Moynihan granted Mr Robinson leave to proceed with the claim, and directed that the parties agree to a timetable to bring the case to trial promptly.

In April, Mr Laws' barrister David Boddice requested the court quash the proceedings based on the statute of limitations, arguing Mr Robertson's action was of "considerable age" and that nothing had been done by the plaintiff since 2003.

He said other legal proceedings taking Mr Robinson's "time and energy" over the years were no excuse for the delay, and that Mr Laws shouldn't be left "at the mercy" of when Mr Robinson chose to pursue the matter.

Mr Boddice also argued the broadcasts were to the "public benefit".

The details of the allegedly defamatory comments were not outlined in the court nor detailed in Justice Moynihan's judgment handed down today.

Mr Boddice said there also was "an issue of prejudice" against Mr Law's case, due to the 2002 death of a central witness who was mentioned in some of the broadcasts.

However, Justice Moynihan agreed with Mr Robinson's barrister Darien Spence's plea that the court allow her client's action to proceed, based on the fact Mr Laws was aware of the action soon after the alleged defamatory broadcasts.

Justice Moynihan also found that up to the end of 2004, each party contributed to periods of delay.

"From 2004 the delay in the plaintiff's prosecuting the action is explicable in terms of his impecuniosity, his involvement in other litigation, criminal and civil, the necessity for him to find other solicitors and his probably misunderstanding that there was an agreement not to progress this action until other actions and charges were disposed of," the judgment read.

"The defendants were content to stand by, but are now critical of the plaintiff's decision to defer the prosecution of this action to deal with criminal charges and other actions.

"In my view the position the plaintiff took as to the pursuing of this action was, in all the circumstances, reasonable."

Justice Moynihan also found there was no evidence of particular prejudice stemming from the death of the witness.

He said if the parties couldn't agree to a timetable to bring the case to trial, he would hear submissions as to directions and costs.
 
WA: Six men charged for abuse

WA: Six men charged for abuse

Six men charged over a series of sex offences against ten under-age girls in the Aboriginal town of Halls Creek in WA are expected to appear in court today.

The West Australian newspaper reports another 20 people have been identified as suspects over the sex offences.

The allegations, which include a 25-year-old man's alleged sexual penetration of an 11-year-old girl, have emerged since February when child protection workers in the town discovered a 13-year-old Aboriginal girl with gonorrhoea who was 22 weeks pregnant.

West Australian Assistant Police Commissioner Graeme Lienert yesterday revealed the six men will appear in the Halls Creek Magistrates Court today charged with 18 counts of sexual assault, including the rape of girls aged between 11 and 14, in 2005 and this year.

Halls Creek

Yesterday a team of 11 specialist detectives flew to Halls Creek, about 700km east of Broome, to investigate claims that up to 26 men could be involved.

Prime Minister John Howard said the charges showed the situation facing children in indigenous communities was a national emergency.

Police will allege some of the men travelled from Kununurra and the Aboriginal communities of Balgo and Warmun to Halls Creek to commit the offences.

WA Premier

However, Western Australia's Premier Alan Carpenter is maintaining his opposition to the federal government's intervention into remote indigenous communities.

Mr Carpenter has told SBS the best way to combat abuse is to win the confidence of indigenous women and children.

“The idea that you go in with a rapid response team, hit the ground, solve the issues and leave, I think is fraught with problems.

“You have to be able to establish confidence in the authorities in these communities, build up a relationship and trust and that's what we are doing in Western Australia”��”��.

The Australian newspaper reports the arrival of detectives in Halls Creek yesterday follows a major police investigation at Kalumburu, 900km northeast of Broome, in which 15 men - including the head and deputy head of the Kalumburu Aboriginal Corporation - have been charged with 103 sexual assault charges.

The federal government’s plan to intervene in Northern Territory indigenous communities to end child sexual abuse will not affect the West Australian townships, even though some lie just over the border.

Delays in the NT

It emerged yesterday that the planned intervention faces legal delays after the Territory Government threatened to back court action to preserve indigenous land title.

The Territory, while supporting the push to end child abuse, plans to challenge the Prime Minister's attempt to seize control of all land in its indigenous communities and to scrap the system under which non-indigenous people must apply for permits to enter the communities.

Mr Lienert said extra police stations and resourcing since the 2003 Gordon inquiry into family violence had begun to make a difference in remote communities, where police were developing a rapport with Aboriginal people so they feel safe in disclosing crimes.
 
More abo orgy news

WA sex charges

Three more people have been charged with child sex offences, as part of an investigation by West Australian police into alleged paedophilia in Aboriginal communities.

Two boys aged 15 and 14 from Balgo Hills, were charged with one count of aggravated sexual penetration of a child aged between 13 and 16.

And an 18-year-old man from Kununurra has been charged with one count of sexual penetration of a child under 13.

Police said the man was a juvenile at the time of the alleged offence.

All up, 20 people have now been arrested as part of Operation Barnham, which was launched earlier this month.
 
Three charged with child rapes - 'ABORIGINAL CRIME SCENE'

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22119715-5005961,00.html

Three charged with child rapes


July 23, 2007 05:42pm


SOUTH AUSTRALIA

THREE Aboriginal men repeatedly raped children in a South Australian indigenous community over a three-year period, police allege.

The three men, all aged in their 20s, have been charged with rape offences between 2003 and 2006, police say.

One man has been charged with 11 rapes, another with eight rapes and yet another man with two rapes.

Police said the victims were aged under 16, and were from a South Australian indigenous community.

SA Police Superintendent John Venditto said the arrests of the men today were "significant".

"The arrests were the result of a longstanding relationship between local police and the Aboriginal community where the men lived, resulting in disclosures being made which led to these arrests," he said.

"Local police had unconfirmed reports (of the abuse occurring) but they were short on facts and short on evidence."

The alleged victims had been removed from the community, he said.

The men were due to face court later today.
 
Aboriginal women victims in all female homicides

BEN LANGFORD

24Jul07

EVERY female homicide victim in the Territory in 2005-2006 was Aboriginal, a new study has shown.

And with many killings occurring in remote areas, the time it takes to get medical attention is a major factor in NT homicide rates, one of the study's authors said.


Australian Insitute of Criminology research showed of 16 homicides in NT in 2005-2006, 12 were murders and four were manslaughter.


Five victims were women.


And 91 per cent of male victims were indigenous.


In NT, 86 per cent of homicides occurred in the evening or at night, with half occurring in a residence and half in an open space or street.


In other states at least two thirds of homicides occurred in the home.


One of the study's authors, Jenny Mouzos, said the figures reflected the living conditions of many indigenous people, with no homicides recorded in city or inner regional areas in the NT.


"Indigenous people may account for just over two per cent of the Australian population; in terms of homicide they account for 14 per cent of victims," Dr Mouzos said.


Dr Mouzos said NT percentages should be treated with caution as the small number of homicides and the small population can skew stats.


But with the previous year also showing 100 per cent of female homicide victims in the NT were Aboriginal, the pattern is clear.


Homicide covers all criminal killing, and includes murder and manslaughter cases.


Dr Mouzos said the time it takes for a person in a remote area to get medical attention is a major factor in NT.


"When you're dealing with homicide (and) predominantly indigenous people, the majority are likely to involve a knife or a sharp object or bashing to death," she said.


"Timely medical intervention is a factor whether an assault becomes a homicide. There's a fine line between an assault and a homicide."


Only one of the NT matters remained unsolved.


Nationally, the number of teenage males committing homicide more than doubled from 2004-05 to 2005-06.

http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2007/07/24/1601_ntnews.html
 
Some Aborigines 'don't understand abuse'

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22125215-5005961,00.html

Some Aborigines 'don't understand abuse'


July 24, 2007 08:58am


AUSTRALIA



SOME Aborigines do not fully understand what child abuse is, the chair of the Federal Government's indigenous intervention strategy said.

Sue Gordon said she has been speaking with women in Maningrida, one of the communities which is to be taken over as part of a Commonwealth plan to stop child sex abuse in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities.

"I spoke to them about the definitions of child abuse, that is a lot of people don't fully understand it," Dr Gordon told ABC radio.

"Sometimes people think that sexual abuse is a straight sexual assault but it can take many forms.

"It's very important for women to understand there's a difference between a rape, sexual assault and grooming a child for abuse."

Dr Gordon said she had also spoken to the women about the importance of children attending school.

"They're thinking ... the children do need long-term help and I thought that was a very good outcome."
 
Elder sentenced to eight years for sex with teens - 'DIRTY ABO NIGER'

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22327979-662,00.html

Elder sentenced to eight years for sex with teens :rollpin:


August 29, 2007 12:00am


SOUTH AUSTRALIA


SHAMEFACED Aboriginal elder Winkie Ingomar stood motionless as he was sentenced today to eight years jail for trading petrol to sniff for sex with three teenage girls.

Ingomar, 52, had pleaded guilty to five counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with the girls, two aged 13 and one 14, between January and June last year.

The abuse took place in his caravan at a bush camp near the small indigenous community of Yalata, 1000km northwest of Adelaide.

Each time, the girls went inside the caravan alone to have sex or be touched by Ingomar before taking and sniffing petrol he owned, the SA Supreme Court sitting in Port Augusta was told.

Sentencing Ingomar today, Justice Margaret Nyland said he had exploited the serious addictions of his victims for his own sexual pleasure and breached his position of trust in the community.

"The fact that you engaged in sexual intercourse with these girls, knowing that the girls intended to do so in order to have access to petrol to sniff, makes your offending particularly bad," Justice Nyland said.

Ingomar, who was a supervisor of the community's vehicles, hung his head, clasped his hands together in front of him and kept his eyes closed for most of the hour-long sentencing.

The court heard the abuse, reported to police by a female member of Yalata, had torn the community apart and caused considerable stress on the girls who had moved from their homes in shame, fear and anger.

"These were young girls," Justice Nyland said.

"You were an elder in the community and a lot older than them. They had known you all their lives.
They obviously trusted you. You should have protected and cared for them, instead you abused them."

One of the 13-year-old girls said she felt like she was "hiding away inside" herself and had now developed a fear of men and strangers.

Another said she was at times too frightened to sleep at night while a mother of a victim described the emotional pain as if she had been "hit by a bullet in the chest".

A planned video-link for the people of the Yalata to watch the proceedings in Ceduna, 300km west of Port Augusta - in what was to be a first for a South Australian indigenous community - was abandoned after a person of the community died.

Justice Nyland was scathing of the time it took for the case to come to court, saying a lack of suitable and available interpreters had extended Ingomar's period of custody.

Ingomar needed an interpreter who spoke his native Pitjantjatjara language.

"These difficulties will continue to affect matters trying to deal with these problems, unless something is done about it," she said.

Despite the delay, Justice Nyland said she treated Ingomar's pleas of guilty, which were made last month in a plea deal as the case was listed for hearing, as sign he was sorry and she believed he had a good chance of rehabilitation in prison.

Justice Nyland jailed Ingomar for eight years with a non-parole period of five years.
 
Abo buck almost loses his pecker

Penis mutilated in botched initiation ceremony

A young man has lost almost half a litre of blood after his penis was cut by a razor blade during a botched Aboriginal initiation ceremony in Bayswater last night.

A 50-year-old Kimberley man has been charged with unlawful wounding after he cut the man’s penis twice during the tribal law ceremony about 7.30pm yesterday.

Police allege the 23-year-old approached the Kimberley tribal elder in Mirrabooka and asked him to perform the ceremony.

Both men travelled by bus to a park on Coode Street in Bayswater, where the elder allegedly performed the ritual, causing a heavy loss of blood.

The 23-year-old drew the attention of rail transit guards at Bayswater station and was conveyed by ambulance to Royal Perth Hospital for medical treatment.

Doctors estimated he haemorrhaged almost half a litre of blood.

The elder was bailed to appear in the Perth Magistrate’s Court next Wednesday.

---------------------------

The only difference between these savages and the savage jew is: those vampire rabbis will slurp up the blood.
 
Boongs hurl rocks at moving vehicles

14 reports in two nights - patrols stepped up

TAREE police received 14 reports of rocks or bricks being thrown at vehicles between the two Old Bar Road roundabouts at Purfleet from 7pm on Thursday to 12.10am on Saturday.

Some of the rocks were thrown at close distance on the roadway, some were thrown from out of the dark on the side of the road, police said.

Where the people throwing the rocks or half bricks were seen by the victims, they were described as being young males of Aboriginal appearance.

One victim reported a young male with a T-shirt wrapped around his head doing “a victory dance”��”�� on the roadway after throwing a missile at a vehicle.



One victim had reported being hit on the arm by a thrown object, but no serious physical injuries were reported, police said.

Police stepped up patrols in the area as soon as the rock-throwing was reported and have maintained a strengthened presence there, the Taree Police Station Duty Officer, Inspector Power, said yesterday.

In addition, police officers are holding talks with Greater Taree City Council, the Purfleet Aboriginal Land Council and other stakeholders to try to organise proactive measures to stop rock throwing, he said.

It is hoped that by talking to the community’s elders the community will be persuaded to prevent a recurrence of the rock-throwing. :rolleyes2:

Police also hoped Purfleet community members will come forward to identify the youths responsible so that charges can be laid, Inspector Power said.

Taree police are also working with Greater Taree City Council and the Roads and Traffic Authority in the hope of changing the environment in the area so that youths do not have ready access to “ammunition”��”�� to throw at vehicles and places to hide from police, he said.

Because of the spasmodic nature of the rock throwing it was difficult for police to catch offenders in the act, Inspector Power said.
 
Abos riot; brandish spears, sticks, knives

Spears, sticks, knives used in Aurukun riot

A man was left with serious head injuries after he was attacked last night during a riot involving up to 200 people in the Cape York Aboriginal community of Aurukun.

A police spokeswoman said a disturbance broke out at the community tavern about 6pm.

About 200 people gathered and moved onto the street. Several of the mob armed themselves with spears, sticks and knives.

One man was attacked by about three members of the group, sustaining serious head injuries.

His current condition is not known.

Local police and members of the Cairns Tactical Crime Squad worked to quell the violence and bring the situation under control, the spokeswoman said.

Investigations into the incident will continue today. Police have not made any arrests in relation to the riot.
 
White cop who killed Abo won't be charged

Cop who killed Aboriginal teen won't be charged

A policeman who fatally shot a teenager in the back during rioting at a remote Aboriginal community will not be charged, despite a coronial inquiry finding he may have committed a crime.

Constable Robert Whittington was "in a blind panic" when he "made a fatal error of judgment" and killed Robert Jongmin on October 23, 2002, Northern Territory coroner Greg Cavanagh said today.

The 18-year-old was taking part in police-sanctioned fist fights between warring gang members the Judas Priest boys and Evil Warriors at the troubled community of Wadeye, about 350km south-west of Darwin.

When the fights got out of control full-scale brawling erupted, with up to 400 people wielding spears, sticks, knives, machetes and wheel braces spilling onto the community oval.

Handing down his findings in Wadeye today, Mr Cavanagh said Robert Jongmin was shot by Senior Const Whittington while the teenager tried to wrestle a shotgun from another teenager, Tobias Worumbu.

The officer, who was relieving at Wadeye at the time and had only been in the community for six days, fired four bullets from his Glock pistol after Mr Worumbu's gun discharged.

Mr Cavanagh said it was likely that the last shot was the one that killed the teenager, while Mr Worumbu was shot in the arm.

Senior Const Whittington was originally charged with committing a dangerous act, but the charge was dismissed last year because the prosecution had not been brought within the required two-month period for police.

In February the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) declared the matter closed, decided not to take an appeal to the High Court.

"I find that Whittington did not intend to kill, wound or shoot the deceased," Mr Cavanagh said today.

"However Whittington's decision to discharge his pistol four times in the circumstances demonstrated a serious error of judgment."

Mr Cavanagh said the officer - who was not trained to fire over long distances and was known for having a poor attitude towards authority - had clearly breached one of the four fundamental safety principles for discharging weapons, namely to be sure of your target.

"There was simply no justification whatsoever for Whittington's decision to continue firing his pistol," he said.

"Whittington discharged his pistol four times because he acted under considerable stress and and was probably in a blind panic at that time.

"I report to the Commissioner of Police and Director of public Prosecution that (a crime) ... may have been committed which caused serious actual danger to the life, health and safety of Robert Jongmin and Tobias Worumbu."

But DPP director Richard Coates today said the case remained closed.

"The coroner is just saying what he is obliged to say under the Coroner's Act," he told AAP.

"He has done that and we adopted a similar view when we laid the original charges against Mr Whittington and that matter has been through the courts and the courts have dismissed the charge."

Mr Coates said the decision to dismiss the charge was upheld by the court of appeal.

"In these circumstances it is not possible to re-lay the charge," he said.

Also in his findings, Mr Cavanagh slammed the practice of police-sanctioned fist fights.

"Police should not have assisted and supervised public fighting as a means of dispute resolution. Not only does it perpetuate a culture of violence but it is also illegal," he said.
 
Boong boy gang-raped by 5 other boongs

Boong justice better than White man's

Dad wants traditional punishment for son

THE father of a young man who sexually abused an 11-year-old boy at a Top End Aboriginal community believes his son should have faced traditional punishment instead of criminal prosecution.

Ben Pascoe told The Australian that his son, Isiah, 20, could have been exiled to a remote bush location as punishment for attacking the boy at Maningrida, 500km east of Darwin. [As opposed to 16 years in jail; what's wrong with a little forcible sodomy, he says, boongs will be boongs.]

With his son expected to be sentenced within days, Mr Pascoe said Aboriginal punishment was more appropriate to deal with the crime than anything handed down by the Northern Territory Supreme Court.

"We have got our own court system here," he said.

In October, Isiah Pascoe and Claevon Cooper, also 20, pleaded guilty along with three teenagers to raping the boy last year.

Police began investigating the case after the boy was treated for gonorrhoea at a Darwin hospital, although prosecutors said there was no suggestion he contracted the disease from one of the accused.

The court heard that the first case of abuse occurred between April and May last year, when Cooper and one teenager had sex with the boy, and another teenager fondled his buttocks, while a pornographic DVD was played in the room. Later that day, the boy went to a nearby house where he was sexually assaulted again. On a third occasion, the boy was abused while swimming with a group of boys in the sea.

Northern Territory Supreme Court justice Trevor Riley denied Pascoe and Cooper bail, saying the maximum penalty for the offences they had committed was 16 years behind bars.

He said at the time that their sentence was "likely to be of some duration" before adjourning the case until next week.

The three teenagers were granted bail on the condition they live at Milingimbi, a small community about 100km from Maningrida, and not contact the victim. The five defendants pleaded guilty to a total of eight charges, including sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 16 and gross indecency.

Mr Pascoe, a respected western Arnhem Land indigenous leader, called for the Supreme Court to be brought "out in the bush".

"We could have dealt with the situation here a lot better," he said. "When the boys were arrested, we could have put a family conciliation effort between each group and talk about that matter before it got out of hand ... We could have punished the kids the way we want to punish them."

Mr Pascoe is related to Jackie Pascoe, who was convicted five years ago of having unlawful intercourse with his 15-year-old promised wife.

From his home in Maningrida, Mr Pascoe has been following the controversy over the nine males who escaped jail time after pleading guilty to gang-raping a girl, 10, in the Cape York Aboriginal community of Aurukun.

His opinion about the white man's legal system mirrored comments by Aurukun mayor Neville Pootchemunka, the father of one of the Cape York defendants, who said traditional punishment would have been appropriate.

Mr Pascoe said Kevin Rudd had an opportunity to improve the intervention in Aboriginal communities by consulting indigenous leaders.

"In the past 20 years, our voices and concerns have fallen on deaf ears and blind eyes," he said. "We would like to move along but only if someone is a good listener."
 
Boong stabs two, including brother, during melee

Traditional Aboriginal man 'stabbed his brother' in brawl

A TRADITIONAL Aboriginal man charged with stabbing two people during a brawl in Adelaide has applied for bail, with his lawyer fearing for his safety in custody.

Alfred Martin was arrested on Tuesday night after police were called to reports of up to 50 people fighting on Cedar Ave at Royal Park.

Martin, 18, allegedly used a knife to stab his brother and another man during the brawl.

Martin's brother sustained a minor stab wound to his shoulder, while the other man suffered a stab wound to the back and a punctured lung.

He was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where he underwent surgery.

Martin stood silently wearing trackpants and no shirt as his lawyer Rebecca Gristwood made an application for bail in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court today.

Ms Gristwood said Martin had stabbed his brother in self-defence and denied attacking the other man.

"My client says that he was never involved in an altercation with the other man," Ms Gristwood said.

Ms Gristwood urged Magistrate Charles Eardley to release Martin on bail, saying she had fears he could be at risk of self-harm in custody.

"He is traumatised at being held inside a cell - he is a traditional man," she said.

Martin is from the Willona Aboriginal community near Alice Springs.

Police prosecutor Constable Gail Ritchie said bail was opposed under any circumstances.

"There are fears for the safety of his brother who is one of the alleged victims and if he is bailed there are concerns he will abscond from the state," Const Ritchie said.

Magistrate Eardley remanded Martin in custody for a decision on bail next Wednesday.

He ordered an Aboriginal interpreter and ordered that Martin be placed on suicide watch until his next court appearance.
 
Armed shebo goes on a manhunt

Gun woman chases man in street

A WOMAN armed with a shotgun chased a man through the streets of Katherine yesterday - screaming "I'm going to kill you".

Heavily-armed police officers donned bullet-proof vests before cordoning off the Victoria Highway and several side roads.

Motorists and residents were urged to stay clear.

The drama happened near the Red Gum Tourist Park on the corner of Bernhard St and the Victoria Highway just before 10am.

The man, believed to be the woman's partner, ran into the caravan park, shouting for staff to call the police, while he hid in the toilets.

The incident stunned park shop worker Tracey Davis.

"He came running in here, saying `a sheila is chasing me with a shotgun'," she told the Northern Territory News shortly after the ordeal.

"He asked me to ring the police. I was shaking and quickly got on the phone.

"The man hid in the toilet as he said he had seen the woman coming.

"I was terrified as I thought she was coming into the shop with a shotgun.

"But she stormed in and was not armed.

"She was bleeding and screaming out to him.

"She then walked back outside and picked up a pole or something from the ground and left."

Police scoured the area but could not find the woman.

They said once it was determined there was no longer a threat to the public, road blocks were removed and traffic conditions returned to normal.

It is believed a second woman was also involved.

Both women were still on the run last night.

They are described as being of Aboriginal appearance, aged in their 20s, and were last seen wearing black T-shirts near the caravan park.
 
Niglet rape crisis widens

Child rape crisis widens

CHILDREN are allegedly raping other children and adults in remote indigenous communities across Queensland.

An investigation by The Courier-Mail has uncovered an alleged pack-rape by several males, including children, on Mornington Island last year.

Police have confirmed another group of youths is being investigated over the alleged rape of two young boys in the western Cape York town of Kowanyama.

It follows the pack rape of a 10-year-old girl in Aurukun in 2006, in which some of the perpetrators were children.

On Mornington Island, a group of males has been charged for the gang rape of a woman in the school grounds on February 28 last year.

Police confirmed yesterday the group, including juveniles, had been charged, but were unable to release other details.

Meanwhile, the Department of Child Safety has defended the way it has dealt with two boys allegedly raped in Kowanyama.

A statement from director-general Norelle Deeth yesterday said the department had taken one boy out of the community after allegations of potential abuse were raised with police on December 28 last year.

Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson confirmed officers were investigating the alleged rape of a Kowanyama boy, 6, but refused to give further details.

And, while the Department of Child Safety said it had alerted police to the case of a boy, 7, after he was found to have contracted a sexually transmitted infection, Mr Atkinson said he was unaware of the case.

Indigenous leaders and academics blame the situation in indigenous communities on the breakdown of Aboriginal law and social systems, poor government services and a lack of parental discipline.

Indigenous Education Leadership Institute executive director Chris Sarra said child rapists did exist in remote communities, with some towns being "held to ransom" by out-of-control children who were not being disciplined.

Mr Sarra said juvenile delinquents were walking out of courts and police stations "with just a smack on the back of the hand".

"I think it is time that we understand the difference between discipline and abuse," Mr Sarra said.

"Discipline is controlled and is anchored by love and abuse is uncontrolled and anchored by dysfunction and contempt."

University of Queensland Aboriginal Environments Research Centre director Paul Memmott said rapes by children happened because of breakdowns in social systems.

Griffith University Youth Forensic Service director Stephen Smallbone backed Dr Memmott, arguing child sexual abuse was not unexpected in communities in which there was no respected authority to stop misbehaviour and no reasons for children to restrain themselves from criminal activity.
 
Face it! Abos are not human

Abused boy, 10, 'left to rape other kids'

AN Aboriginal boy, who turns 10 today and is under investigation for allegedly raping a six-year-old boy last month, had been left in the Cape York community of Kowanyama despite the Department of Child Safety knowing he was an abuse victim who had gone on to abuse others.

In a graphic example of the cycle of sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities, the department was told two years ago the boy was deeply troubled and had sexually penetrated a four-year-old boy.

Departmental officers were furious that children who had been victims of sexual and physical assault and were living in dysfunctional situations on remote communities were not taken away to ensure their safety.

Disquiet about the department's treatment of Aboriginal child victims arose last month when The Australian revealed a 10-year-old intellectually impaired girl had been gang-raped by nine youths and men on Aurukun community on Cape York. The rapists pleaded guilty but none was jailed.

The Australian revealed on Tuesday that six pre-teen and teenage boys in Kowanyama had been interviewed by police regarding allegations they had been involved in serially raping boys.

According to the departmental documents, obtained by The Australia, the boy whose birthday is today was so disturbed that as a six-year old he threatened suicide, saying: "If I stab myself, my father will be happy."

His father was in jail at the time.

The file noted that, in 2001, the then three-year-old's mother "drinks from Thursday to Saturday every week and ... the child is left wandering around the community on his own".

The report said another woman looked after the boy for 11 months of that year without financial support from his family.

The file said the mother did not take the three-year-old to play group to help his development and when he was sick she refused to take him to the health clinic, opting to "visit the tribal elders to heal the child, who often has a cold and ear problems".

The March 5, 2001, file note said the woman caring for the child found him playing in the street, "sitting in a muddy puddle of water at 7.30pm alone, vomiting and with a high temperature".

The department instigated "case management" and "extended family agreed to support the mother in meeting the child's protective needs".

On September 3, 2004, the file noted that the then six-year-old had become depressed and withdrawn and reported that he wanted to commit suicide. It said he had "a lot of emotional issues" and that during a relative's funeral he had a wire and wanted to hang himself with it.

On receipt of that information, the department put him on a temporary care order with another person, and that was extended for a year. He was referred to mental health doctors.

On December 4, 2004, the boy gave two fresh buns to his cousin. A witness told how his woman carer hit the boy three times across the back with a piece of hose. When he fell down, she kicked him in the head and back. The boy's aunt intervened to stop the assault.

He was removed from that carer and put with another in Kowanyama. On June 16, 2005, there was a report that he "put his penis" into a four-year-old boy. His aunt told the department that the boy "does this sort of thing all the time and that he had been raped".

He was again referred to mental health doctors, and on November 19, 2005, his care order lapsed.

The file noted that an assessment was made that the mother "had addressed the protective needs of the child and that reunification was appropriate", so he was returned to her care in Kowanyama.

On December 28 last year, an allegation was made that the boy sexually abused his six-year-old male cousin at his mother's home.

The department file said the "assessment" was still continuing and that the child "needs to live in a home environment free of alcohol and drug misuse".
 
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