A district court judge allowed a teenager who broke into the homes of two elderly women to give an Acknowledgment of Country during his sentencing.
Judge Penelope Wass was sentencing a 17-year-old in the Taree District Court on the New South Wales mid-north coast when she invited him to give the land survey last month. 2GB Ben Fordham reported.
The boy had pleaded guilty to breaking into the homes of a 92-year-old woman and an 88-year-old woman, and sexually touching the younger woman.
Judge Wass had reportedly told the boy that she would be happy for him to give her a Country Recognition over any other court she presided over, Fordham said.
The boy was released on parole since he had already served his sentence behind bars.
Fordham said Judge Wass got a “surprise” by allowing a criminal the opportunity to make the admission during sentencing.
“This is the guy who was about to be sentenced, pleading guilty to terrorizing elderly ladies in their own homes,” Fordham said Friday morning.
‘The offender was given the floor and given the privilege of performing a Welcome to the Country in the middle of the courtroom.
Judge Penelope Wass (pictured) was sentencing a 17-year-old at Taree District Court on the New South Wales North Coast when she invited him to perform a Country Recognition.
The indigenous peoples perform a welcome to the country ceremony in recognition of the land in which the event is celebrated.
‘Judge Penelope Wass considered it appropriate for the offender to receive her in his own court. The law is supposed to be blind, skin color shouldn’t matter.’
An Acknowledgment of Country is a statement that shows awareness and respect for the Traditional Custodians of the land. It can be given by a First Nations person or a non-Indigenous person.
A welcome to country is a ceremony performed by traditional custodians to welcome visitors to their ancestral land and is usually carried out in the form of singing, dancing and smoking ceremonies.
Judge Wass and the District Court of New South Wales have been contacted for comment.
Judge Wass was sworn in as a judge of the District Court of New South Wales in April 2016.
At the time, Arthur Moses SC, who is in a relationship with former New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian, described Judge Wass as one of the “most diligent, thorough and investigative female practitioners, one who readily accepted the challenging cases in search of the truth. ‘.
“No detail was too small to escape His Honour’s attention,” he said.
During Judge Wass’s career, she also worked as a Commonwealth Public Prosecutor’s Office prosecutor and a senior member of the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Judge Wass (pictured centre) was sworn in as a judge of the District Court of New South Wales in April 2016.
