Girl, 14, charged with terror offences
A young girl facing a sweep of serious terror charges has fronted court for her first public hearing, hiding behind long black cloth as she entered and left the court.
South Australian terror cops swooped in on the Adelaide girl in mid March following an investigation, charging her with possessing explosive instructions and 19 counts of possessing extremist material.
The girl, appearing before Magistrate Tracee Micallef at Adelaide Youth Court on Friday, wore black jeans and sneakers and sat quietly throughout proceedings.
Andrew Williams, appearing for the girl, asked Ms Micallef to close the hearing to protect his client’s welfare.
“This is a very young girl,” he said.
“This needs to be handled delicately and privately.”
Reporters at the hearing opposed the application to close the court, arguing public interest in the case, and Ms Micallef adjourned the court to consider the issue.
On her return, she decided to exclude the media from the hearing but left open the possibility of future reporting into the case.
“The information that was provided to me for discussion was of a nature relating to the personal health and well being of the young person, but the matter is simply being adjourned for further consideration.
“So I’m not excluding the media ad infinitum, each magistrate will consider the position based on what is being heard on that particular day.”
The girl will return to court for another hearing on April 19.
On leaving the court, a young man in long black pants and a long-sleeved white business shirt helped the girl make her way to a waiting red car, which then quickly sped away.
Following her arrest in March, the police stated, “material that directly or indirectly encourages, glorifies, promotes or condones terrorist acts, or seeks support for, or justifies the carrying out of terrorist acts is considered to be extremist material.”
