Teenagers get 15-month prison terms for high school arson

By PATRICK GOWER

On Tuesday Damian Roughan sat his final School Certificate exam, in geography.

That night he sat down to an early Christmas dinner his mother had cooked for him. She had a feeling he might not be home for the festive season.

Today a judge sent the 16-year-old and two other teenagers to jail for 15 months for burning their school gym to the ground, causing millions of dollars of damage.

The others were Nikki Fulker, 16, who should have been on summer holidays today after finishing internal assessment for her Sixth Form Certificate, and Stephen Medd, 15, who would have been finishing a private training course which the school gave him "early release" to do.

They were sentenced in the Hamilton District Court after admitting the arson of the $3.5 million Hamilton's Fraser High School gym on August 10.

A 16-year-old girl whose name is suppressed also faces charges to do with the fire. She has pleaded not guilty and her case will be heard next year.

Sentencing the three, Judge Russell Callender said prison was his last resort for offenders of their age, but "the seriousness of the offending is something I cannot ignore".

"There is a clear need to deter others of like minds, given the schools damaged by arson in New Zealand."

Judge Callender said the three were given "a major and significant reduction because of their youthfulness", and would have faced up to seven years in prison if they were older.

As sentence was passed, Roughan stood unmoved, Medd smiled and Fulker - who had earlier rushed from the dock saying she was going to vomit - cried.

"You still have your lives ahead of you," Judge Callender told them finally. "It is over once your sentence is completed. And when you have paid the price, you have got to do good things in the future."

Many in the public gallery slumped back into their seats in tears as the judge left the court.

Roughan and Medd are now in Waikeria Prison. Fulker was sent to Mt Eden Women's Prison.

They have been granted leave to apply for home detention.

In prison they will be isolated from adult offenders.

Their imprisonment was criticised by Peter Williams, QC, from the Howard League for Penal Reform, who said sending children to jail could push them to suicide or turn them into career criminals.

"The way they are kept is absolutely appalling.

"It's an isolated cell with a bucket where they get no education. If it was anywhere else in the Western world, this would not be tolerated."

But he said the judge had no alternative, as the Government would not set up specialised youth prisons where young inmates could receive discipline, education and the inspiration to change their ways.

Waikeria Prison holds 895 male inmates ranging from maximum security to remand and contains a new youth unit.

Mt Eden Women's Prison holds 54 maximum, medium and remand inmates, but does not have a youth facility.

Speaking to the Herald the night before the sentencing, Roughan said he knew he had done wrong and deeply regretted his actions.

"This is not what I wanted for my life. It was the wrong thing and I can see that now."

His mother, Kay, said last night that she was relieved it was over.

"We can move on. This has been 3 1/2 months of life suspended and Damian had to concentrate on his exams. He was able - he just had to try to block everything else out."

Outside the court, Fraser High School principal Martin Elliott welcomed the sentence.

"Our school community would have been incensed with anything less. A slap on the wrist would have sent a message to the rest of New Zealand that you can commit what was almost an act of terrorism and get away with it.

"They have to spend some time in jail - that's it."

The court had heard of the troubled backgrounds of the trio.

Fulker came from a broken home with an alcoholic father, Roughan had a preoccupation with fires and Medd has since been counselled for drug and alcohol abuse.

Fulker had planned the fire for some days beforehand and on the night the arsonists went together gathering pamphlets on the way to use as fuel and then piling wood on top to begin the blaze that would take 60 firefighters more than seven hours to put out.

Mr Elliott had kind words for Medd, whom he described as a "likeable rogue", but remained bitter at Fulker, who had a "huge question mark hanging over her".

He had special praise for Roughan, who he said was a young man with considerable potential and would be the one who would emerge from prison "stronger and wiser".

"If I'm at Fraser when he comes out, I'll be there for him."