Teen Facing 100+ Charges Made Disturbing Online Searches During Alleged Crime Spree

​Authorities said a teenager’s online search history has raised concerns after she was charged with more than 100 offences for allegedly swerving a vehicle toward a group of men dressed in traditional Jewish clothing.

​Her case progressed to the children’s court on May 4 over alleged offences committed when she was 13. Reports indicate she allegedly averaged 1.45 offences per day over a 74-day period, highlighting the frequency of these incidents.

​Addressing the court arguments, defence lawyers for the now 14-year-old cited the principle of doli incapax. This legal doctrine presumes children below a certain age may not fully understand the difference between right and wrong or possess the mental capacity to form criminal intent.

On April 28, the girl, who cannot be identified because she is a minor, allegedly stole a car and drove it toward a group of Jewish men at the intersection of Hotham St and Glen Eira Rd in St Kilda East, in Melbourne’s inner southeast.

​Before the alleged attack, she reportedly searched online: “Where do Jews live?”

​Police also allege that, within three minutes of using a stolen car to ram a 45-year-old cyclist off his bike on March 30, she searched: “how long is the sentence for running someone over”.

Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) chair Dvir Abramovich told The Australian the teenager’s internet search history was a troubling sign that antisemitism is becoming normalized.

​“She did not pull it out of the air. She heard it, she read it, she absorbed it, and somewhere in this country an adult, or a screen, or a chant at a rally, or a slogan on a placard, taught her that Jews are a target you can find by postcode,” Abramovich said, according to the Daily Mail.

​Abramovich added that targeting Jews has become a way for some young people to feel important in Australia.

​“That is not a story about one child. That is a story about a country that let antisemitism become aspirational,” he said. “That allowed it to migrate from the fringes to the playground. That permitted a generation of young Australians to grow up believing that Jews are a category, a target, a punchline, a postcode.”

​Detective Senior Constable Jarryd Grey told the court in April that the girl “thinks (her alleged crimes) gives her status in her group, which is really concerning.”

​The girl, who has spent 34 days in custody, was reportedly on bail at the time of the alleged offences.

​The magistrate said it was “obvious” the girl’s lawyers would rely on doli incapax.

​“The first thing that goes into your head is doli. The kids, when they get arrested, scream to police officers, ‘doli, doli’. They’re aware of it,” the magistrate said.

​The teenager’s next court hearing is scheduled for May 18.