UPDATE, Thursday, 11am: A 14-YEAR-OLD girl who habitually absconds from care has been remanded in custody after she was reported missing to Warrnambool police for the 126th time.
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The girl, who cannot be identified, did not apply for bail in a court on Thursday morning after being arrested on Wednesday night.
She was remanded in custody to appear in court via a video link on February 28.
The girl previously appear in a court at Melbourne and pleaded guilty to 24 charges, including punching and kicking her mother three times, other assaults and causing criminal damage.
She had sentencing adjourned until March 19 while a pre-sentence report was prepared.
It’s expected that on February 28 new charges of causing damage in a Warrnambool care facility will be adjourned for consolidated plead hearing on March 19.
Earlier, Thursday: A 14-YEAR-OLD girl who habitually absconds from care has been arrested for causing damage after she was reported missing to Warrnambool police for the 126th time.
The girl, who cannot be identified, has been charged with three counts of causing criminal damage, been remanded in custody at the Warrnambool police station and will appear in a court on Thursday.
Police will again apply for her bail to be revoked and for her to be held in secure welfare at the Melbourne Youth Justice Centre at Parkville.
Police made a similar application on Monday which was not successful.
But the girl was then reported missing from her care home on Tuesday night outside her curfew hours.
Warrnambool police Sergeant Tom Morris said a police divisional van crew located the girl walking along Bromfield Street at 10pm Wednesday.
She has been charged with causing damage to an internal wall, garage wall and an office window.
The girl has already had her sentencing deferred in court after pleading guilty to 24 offences.
Wednesday: A 14-YEAR-OLD girl who habitually absconds from care has been reported missing to Warrnambool police missing for the 126th time.
Police applied in a court on Monday for the girl’s bail to be revoked and for her to be held in secure welfare at the Melbourne Youth Justice Centre at Parkville.
That application was rejected by a magistrate and the girl was placed back with carers at a Warrnambool facility.
She was previously charged with 24 crimes, pleaded guilty and her sentencing has been deferred.
Her bail conditions include an overnight curfew.
Carers reported the girl missing again at 11.50pm on Tuesday after she absconded from the care facility.
It’s alleged she committed damage at her home by punching a wall.
Police are looking for the girl and it is expected she will appear in court again when arrested and another application will be made to revoke her bail.
Tuesday: A 14-YEAR-OLD Warrnambool girl, who has been reported missing to police 125 times, has been released from custody again to live in care.
Police had made an application for the girl to be locked up in protective custody after she pleaded guilty recently to criminal charges and sentencing was deferred.
A magistrate refused that application and released the girl on bail to live in care.
She told the girl it was her last chance to avoid being locked up.
The girl is facing 24 criminal charges, including punching and kicking her mother three times, other assaults and causing criminal damage.
A juvenile justice worker said locking the girl up in a facility like the Melbourne Youth Justice Centre at Parkville was not the best option for the girl.
She continually breaches her overnight curfew, and has been reported missing 24 times since September last year.
The girl is in the care and likely to be so for the next couple of years.
She has major issues with chroming Nivea deodorant and cannabis.
Her solicitor claimed his client's offending was de-escalating although she had failed to comply with carers five times since January 22.
The magistrate said the girl seemed to be making a mockery of the system which was supporting her, but the court was ultimately responsible for the girl's welfare.
She said she was not critical of carers.
The magistrate said the girl was extremely vulnerable and had been found in the company of young men in their 20s by two women who contacted authorities.
She said the girl had also failed to appear in court when required and she risked being the victim of an assault or sexual assault being out late at night.
The magistrate said all the support agencies were going the extra mile to help, but the girl was not looking after her own best interests.
"If she is not concerned about her well being, I am," she said.