Five boys charged after Geraldton police allegedly find mobile phone footage of robbery on disabled person

Police have charged five juvenile boys after a phone allegedly containing a graphic video of a nonverbal man with a disability being robbed on the street was seized and searched after their arrest. Geraldton police officer-in-charge Sen. Sgt Chris Martin said the group was arrested after police allege they were involved in a Marine Terrace burglary on Monday, August 21 where a cash till, soft drinks and about $500 cash were stolen. He alleged two juveniles broke into the Golden Dragon Chinese Restaurant through a glass window while the other three stood across the road to keep watch. CCTV footage captured the incident and as a result police arrested five boys aged 11, 12, 13 and 14. Sen. Sgt Martin said police seized and examined the accused boys’ mobile phones, and it’s alleged officers discovered a video of the same group of juveniles “assaulting and demanding” property from a disabled person on Chapman Road. Police allege a group of boys demanded two men, aged 45 and 50, hand over their jewellery and watches and forcibly removed their belongings when they refused on Sunday about 2.50pm. “The really distressing part of this incident is that (one of the) victims (is) cognitively disabled . . . (he) is nonverbal and has a pre-existing brain injury,” Sen. Sgt Martin said. Two boys, aged 14 and 15, were remanded in custody and will reappear in Geraldton Children’s Court on August 25 charged with robbery and common assault. Three other boys were summoned to Geraldton Children’s Court on Tuesday, September 19, including a 13-year-old charged with common assault and a 13-year-old and 11-year-old charged with common assault and robbery.