A shocking decision by Magistrate Gail Hubble has ignited fierce debate across Victoria’s legal and civic circles.
In sentencing a teenage repeat offender—who has accumulated more than 400 charges over 663 days in custody—Magistrate Hubble ruled that the youth had effectively proven incapable of complying with bail or community orders and ordered his immediate release.
The 15‑year‑old, a refugee visa holder, had already spent 419 days in pre‑sentence detention. Over the past year, he admitted guilt to six aggravated burglaries, 14 car thefts, four robberies, three shop break‑ins, along with multiple offences including dangerous driving, trespass, and handling stolen goods. Despite these offences, his lawyer and prosecution argued for a supervised youth release plan involving behaviour programs, asserting it would benefit him.
Magistrate Hubble rejected these calls emphatically:
- “He’s been unable to comply with bail or satisfactorily complete a community order… I don’t think he can do a community order at this point.”
- Reflecting on her repeated decisions, she confessed, “I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve given him bail.”
She emphasised that the 419 days he served was “extraordinary” and sufficient, warning of institutionalisation if he remained detained. Nonetheless, he remains under the supervision of child protection services in a residential care setting—despite having absconded 23 times in the preceding six months.
The youth justice system in Victoria is under intense scrutiny. Critics describe this case as symptomatic of a broader failure—a system allowing dangerous youths to cycle in and out of custody without meaningful rehabilitation or public safety.
