Youth rapist faces adult sentence

15:23 AEST Mon Sep 3 2012 Nine News

A boy who raped a woman at knifepoint in broad daylight when he was aged 14 will be sentenced as an adult.
Supreme Court Justice Shan Tennent has warned a sentence under Tasmania's Youth Justice Act, with its maximum two-year penalty, would be inadequate and she will use discretionary powers. "I have significant concerns about the very short time he would spend in custody if he were sentenced as a youth," Justice Tennent told the court. Justice Tennent said she needed more time to consider the case and would pass sentence later this week. The boy, now 15, has pleaded guilty to the rape of a 23-year-old woman on a popular walking track in Hobart parkland. The court heard a mental health report was inconclusive about the motives for the attack, which occurred in February. "That report doesn't give me much comfort, doesn't give me any at all," Justice Tennent said. Defence lawyer Amber Mignot said the boy's shame and "inability to process what has occurred" were behind his unwillingness to talk about his crime or participate in counselling. Ms Mignot said he had been attacked inside the Ashley Youth Detention centre, on one occasion knocked unconscious, and had been moved after a threat from an inmate with a concealed weapon. Prosecutor Jackie Hartnett, who had previously argued for the adult sentence, reiterated her call. "The risk to the public is significant," she said