Heartbroken father of alleged machete attacker begs for consequences for his son

The father of one of the alleged school-aged perpetrators seen in a disturbing video holding a machete to a schoolmate’s throat has slammed the justice system, saying his son is likely to face “no real consequences”.

The statement comes as a school community in Melbourne’s west reels following the video of a group of boys allegedly threatening fellow students with a machete in the toilet of a McDonald’s outlet on Monday.

“My heart breaks for the victims and the trauma this will cause them,” the father said.

“I am also deeply heartbroken to see my son act in a way that completely contradicts the values I’ve worked hard to instil in him.”

The father went on to say that over the past few days, he had witnessed first-hand “just how weak the system is”.

“Even the police have indicated that my son is likely to face no real consequences. Our juvenile justice system has proven to be ineffective – placing my son in juvenile detention here in Victoria will only embolden him to continue this behaviour.”

The father said the system needed “effective consequences” to help rehabilitate children who had perpetrated crimes.

“I appeal to the system and those in power: create effective consequences that truly rehabilitate these boys, and support – not undermine – the parents who are doing their best to hold their children accountable,” he said.

The Department of Education labelled the incident “unacceptable” and tried to reassure parents that their children were safe at the school.

Neither the alleged victims, perpetrators, their school nor the school’s suburb can be publicly identified owing to reporting restrictions imposed by youth justice legislation.

However, police confirmed the arrest of two teenage boys on Wednesday and the cautioning of another two after the incident on Dohertys Road, Truganina, at 4pm on Monday.

“During the incident, a machete is alleged to have been produced,” police said in a statement on Thursday night.

“The two victims, both 15-year-olds from the Wyndham area, were not injured.”

Several videos obtained by The Age appear to show a teen in a blue shirt brawling with another teen in a yellow shirt, and a third boy holding a large blade to the throat of the boy in the blue shirt.

“One of the boys has been charged with aggravated burglary, theft of a motor vehicle, false imprisonment, producing child abuse material, assault with a weapon and possessing a controlled weapon,” police said.

“He was bailed to appear at a children’s court at a later date. A second boy is expected to be charged on summons.”

The incident took place about 24 hours after Preston’s Northland shopping centre was placed into lockdown because rival gangs were chasing each other through the complex with machetes.

The Truganina incident also came less than 48 hours before a statewide ban on selling machetes came into action, in response to the Northland incident.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said the incident in Truganina was “completely unacceptable”.

“Despite the event taking place away from the school and outside school hours, any form of violence within our school community is entirely unacceptable,” the spokesperson said.

“This incident does not reflect the safe and supportive culture at the school or the behaviour of the vast majority of students.

“When incidents occur, we work closely with the students, their families and appropriate authorities to ensure these matters are properly investigated and appropriate disciplinary actions taken.”

Opposition education spokesperson Jess Wilson said Monday’s incident was deeply troubling.

“[This is] a sad indictment on the Allan Labor government’s failure to address Victoria’s youth crime crisis,” she said.

“Under Labor, too many young Victorians are not receiving the support they need to stay on the right path – and students, staff and school communities are paying the price.”

With Bridie Smith

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