Four youths who subjected a 13-year-old girl to a series of degrading sex acts in public toilets have wept in a Sydney court as they were each sentenced to at least a year in prison.
Seven youths, some in school uniform, were involved in the attacks, one of which was filmed on a mobile phone.
The girl, who felt threatened and intimidated, performed oral sex on five of the youths during her hours-long ordeal at two isolated toilet blocks in Yagoona and on a building rooftop in Bankstown, in Sydney's southwest, in July 2007.
During one incident she was told to "just smile like you're enjoying it", while one youth later gave her his phone number and asked her to call him.
At times, the youths yelled at their mates to "hurry up, it's taking too long" and "your turn's up".
Four of the teenagers, who were aged 15 and 16 at the time and cannot be named, were sentenced by Judge Richard Cogswell in the NSW District Court on Friday.
Three of the youth pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated sexual intercourse with a girl under 14 and were sentenced to a maximum of 27 months imprisonment in juvenile detention, with a non-parole period of 12 months.
The sentences were backdated to the time of their arrests, making them eligible for release in late January 2010.
The fourth youth, who admitted to two counts of the same offence, was sentenced to a maximum of three years with a non-parole period of 16 months. He will be eligible for release on May 28, 2010.
The youths cried as they were each led separately down to the cells, one holding his hands to his head, others whispering farewells to their families in the public gallery.
Family members also sobbed as the teens were led away, one calling out, "pull your head up" to a youth whose shirt had ripped during sentencing remarks.
Judge Cogswell banned reporters from the courtroom during sentencing remarks to protect the interests of the offenders.
Front page
RSS Feed