A 16-year-old boy, who along with a friend lit vacant land on fire, amid other offences, was given good behaviour bonds in Orange Children’s Court on Monday.
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The child, who cannot be named due to his age, was convicted of five crimes including taking his friend’s mother’s car on a joy-ride around Orange.
His solicitor Gerry Stapleton said the other child no longer lives in Orange and his client was already on a good-behviour bond for another serious matter.
According to police facts, the child and his friend, of a similar age, were alone at the friend’s house, on September 5 when the friend found his mother’s car keys.
According to police they decided to drive the car, with both boys taking turns as they drove around Orange for about 50 minutes at about 7.30pm.
However, when the mother returned home about 9.30pm she noticed the car was parked on the front lawn, not on the driveway where she’d left it.
After confronting them she phoned police who arrested the boys but released them after questioning because of their ages and because they were not on bail.
For taking and driving the car the child was given a two-year good behaviour bond on Monday.
He was also given four 12-month good behaviour bonds for four offences he and the friend committed on September 5 and on September 9.
According to police the boys set fire to a vacant land reserve after being told to leave a Hill Street property about 5pm on September 5.
Police said they lit about 14 small fires in the Orange council-owned reserve, which did not damage any property.
On about 6.20pm on September 9, the boys returned to the resident’s home and after they were again told to leave one of them smashed the brake lights on the resident’s car.
The child threatened to hit the resident with a bamboo garden stake then threw a pot plant at the back door, which smashed the pot.
Magistrate David Day said the background report described the offences as impulsive.
“Impulsiveness comes with [his] age, frontal lobe development,” Mr Day said.
“If he was an adult he would be sitting there in the dock and would be going to jail, but he’s not an adult he’s 16.”
Despite the child’s impulsiveness, lack of restraint and aggression, Mr Day said the child was a good prospect for rehabilitation.
