A 12-YEAR-OLD Seaford boy charged with armed robbery and assault, after allegedly setting a girl’s hair on fire while bashing and stealing her phone, has been bailed again by the same magistrate who warned him at his previous court appearance that he was on his “last, last chance”.

The attack on the 15-year-old girl at a Frankston skate park, 9pm, Friday 5 August, sickened even seasoned detectives as the accused and six alleged co-offenders had lured the girl to the park on the pretext of being her friend.

There they intimidated her before allegedly attacking her with the cigarette lighter, punching her in the face and kicking her in the face and body. While the girl was on the ground the boy allegedly stole her bag and mobile phone (‘Attackers set girl’s hair on fire’, The Times 15/8/16).

The girl managed to run home and tell her parents who called police. She was taken to Frankston Hospital with a fractured right hand, swelling and bruising to her face and body and singed hair.

The detective investigating the case said the boy had already faced children’s courts on six previous occasions for similar offences and “couldn’t care less about consequences because there are none”.

He is scheduled to appear at a court tomorrow, Tuesday 23 August, to answer the charges.

The detective said the boy had previously been bailed in March on three counts of car theft, robbery and attempted robbery. He has also faced court on multiple counts of burglary and theft – including theft of a bicycle, theft from cars, deception using stolen credit cards, and criminal damage to a car and a building under construction.

After the alleged attack on the girl, the boy’s legal aid team made yet another bail application – his seventh successful application.

A 13-year-old Langwarrin boy, charged over the same attack on the girl, refused to attend court, so his matters were further adjourned.

First published in the Frankston Times – 22 August 2016