Shamed, the teenage girls who bragged about inviting gatecrasher to the party which left Liam Knight disabled
The Daily Telegraph, Sydney Australia, Mark Morri, crime editor, May 05, 2014
Liam Knight has condemned two teen girls for bragging about inviting the gatecrasher who speared him through the head with a metal pole, describing them as "absolute filth and the scum of the earth".
The 18-year-old suffered lifelong brain damage after the gatecrasher threw the 2.85m metal rod at him "like a javelin", piercing his skull, at a backyard birthday party for his friend Harry Staples in ÂForestville, in Sydney's north, last January.
Liam Knight wasn't shy about offering his opinion on the teen girls.
Just hours after the unwanted guest was found guilty on Friday of throwing the steel rod at Liam, two Sydney teens were boasting they had invited him. The taunt came after Lisa Staples, whose son Harry held the 18th birthday party, told The Saturday Telegraph the girls had never shown any Âremorse or apologised to her family or Liam.
The girls, who cannot be named for legal reasons, took to Instagram soon after the story was published and posted a selfie that boasted they were "The girls that showed no remorse".
Incredibly the post received more than 100 "likes" from their friends.
Liam Knight leaves court after the guilty verdict
The girls finally apologised yesterday after being contacted by The Daily Telegraph.
"To the person who wrote the article and to everyone that read it, of course we are remorseful, what's occurred is a tragedy. There are many factors at play here. So please don't point the finger at us," one of the girls posted at 2.36pm yesterday. Her friend "liked'' her comment.
Both the Staples and Knight families yesterday said they did not want "to lower their dignity'' by responding to the girls' taunts. Liam, who now suffers epilepsy and a loss of motor function, posted on Facebook: "I'd just like to point out that the two girls who invited the gatecrashers to the 18th where I was injured are absolute filth and the scum of the earth. They are basically the reason I am disabled for the rest of my life and they think it is an absolute joke.''
Liam, who will be under medical supervision for the rest of his life, said he was angry at his attacker.
"But I hate these girls just as much because they are that stupid and act like they are innocent little girls who have done nothing wrong," he said.
"I hope you are happy with yourselves because you are the reason for the way I am today."
Liam last night took his Facebook post down.
The state government said it would consider looking at a special gatecrashing law for anyone who invites unwanted guests to parties. Attorney-General Brad Hazzard's spokesman yesterday said the department was investigating the girls' involvement.
"The Attorney-General will ask the department to give Âadvice on whether this case Âindicates the need for any Âfurther legislation in any particular area," he said.
Liam Knight leaves court after the guilty verdict
Where the boys are
The Globe and Mail
February 1, 2003
Academically, boys across the country are lagging behind the girls, but a Montreal public school has seen dramatic improvement by separating the sexes in classes. It allows teachers to tailor curriculum and style to suit each sex. The result? The number going on to college has nearly doubled. INGRID PERITZ reports
MONTREAL -- The teenage girls at James Lyng High School like to flirt with boys. They like to tease them, joke with them, even date them sometimes. But attend class with them? As the giggling girls in one math class this week might say, "Gross."
Luckily, they don't have to. Coed James Lyng splits boys and girls up at the classroom door. The division of the sexes is credited with helping turn a faltering inner-city high school into an education success story.
Why boys are in trouble
Boys have been painted as the bad guys in the push to encourage girls to succeed, leaving many young men feeling confused and alienated, wondering what they did wrong
The Associated Press
January 5, 1999
According to psychologist and author William Pollack, 'sports are the one arena in which many of society's traditional strictures about masculinity are often loosened, allowing boys to experience parts of themselves they rarely experience elsewhere.'
When Harvard Medical School psychologist William Pollack administered a test to a group of 150 teenaged boys a few years ago, the results were shocking.
Teen depression on the increase
More and More teens are becoming depressed. The numbers of young people suffering from depression in the last 10 years has risen worryingly, an expert says.
BBC, UK, August 3, 2004
Government statistics suggest one in eight adolescents now has depression.
Unless doctors recognise the problem, Read More ..uld slip through the net, says Professor Tim Kendall of the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health.
Guidelines on treating childhood depression will be published next year. Professor Kendall says a lot Read More ..eds to be done to treat the illness.
When Ms. Teacher Goes After Male Pupi
FOX News, U.S.A., By Catherine Donaldson-Evans, February 12, 2005
Female teachers accused of sex crimes against underage male students have been grabbing headlines lately. Many of them are young and beautiful, their stories sordid and intriguing.
But to law enforcement, they're something else criminals who have committed statutory rape against a minor.
This week alone, two cases have hit the news: Cops say one Texas teacher, Kathy Denise White had sex with a 17-year-old, and Tennessee teacher Pamela Rogers Turner had sex with a 13-year-old boy.
They join at least three other recent cases: Florida teacher Debra LaFave (search), 24, is expected to plead insanity to charges she had sex with a 14-year-old student, according to her lawyer; California teacher Sarah Bench-Salorio, 28, allegedly molested two boys when they were 12 and 14; and 33-year-old California teacher Rebecca Boicelli was arrested last month on statutory rape and related charges after DNA tests confirmed that a former student fathered her 2-year-old baby when he was 16. Read More ..
History teachers face an uphill battle
Teachers are the key to keeping our country's history alive, but at least one noted historian questions their ability to handle the responsibility. "It's a bleak picture . . . I wish they were up for the job," says Jack Granatstein, chairperson of the Council for Canadian Security in the 21st Century. "Many teachers think war is something that should be taught as a bad thing, which neglects the heroism."
Schools teach children their rights in Canada, but not the responsibilities that come with citizenship, he says. We don't even know what opinions teachers are giving children, he adds, and whether they're sound.
"History is very important in a country that is as multi-cultural as we are. It's very important to understand the price we pay for that. "We teach a kind of human security, peacekeeping history, which strikes me as nuts, given all the violence. You need soldiers who can fight a war when you need to." Read More ..