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hindsight to put a rope around his waist and not his neck," he told the court. "This is not a racial event. It would have been the same if it had been a white youth." The
Tomkins were fined A$ 500 each, and ordered to pay A$ 300 each to the victim. For a common assault charge, up to three years imprisonment is possible.
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Outside the court house, the victims' relatives were outraged and began yelling abuse at the police and the
Tomkins, who were led out under heavy police guard. Protesters waved placards declaring "One law for whites and one law for blacks – still" and "This is KKK land". The police had already called
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At the hearing, held before magistrate Dennis Beutel, the
Tomkins pleaded guilty to common assault. The prosecutor representing the four Toomelah boys did not produce photographs of the boys' injuries nor use their testimonies, according to Jarrett. The prosecutor also failed to mention the drugs on
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At the local
Goondiwindi hospital a nurse attended Boland, but the doctor on duty refused to see him, despite the gravity of his injuries, according to Boland's family. At one stage Boland and one of the Tomkins, who had broken his arm in the fracas, were sitting together in the same treatment room.
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to investigate the case and the actions of the police. Local leader Bert Button said, "The justice system stinks. It's saying it's all right for non-Indigenous people to go and put a rope around someone's neck and drag them up and down a river and give them a flogging." The
Tomkins spent the night
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reported that the
Tomkins' defence lawyer, Robbie Davis, had said his clients had become fed up with frequent break-ins on the farm and that they had used "reasonable force" to restrain Boland. Davis said the Tomkins were wrong to tie a noose around Boland's neck. "It's a pity they didn't have the
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According to
Jarrett and Mrs Boland, a police sergeant and the prosecutor then repeatedly pressured them for another two hours to sign statements dropping the more serious charge of assault occasioning bodily harm in company, for which there is a maximum penalty of 10 years' jail. The sergeant and
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attack while he was being untied from the tree. He then ran back through the bush and swam across the river. Boland said the two
Tomkins then walked into the farmhouse and returned with a double-barrelled shotgun and 0.22-calibre rifle, loaded both in front of Boland and pressed the guns to either
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that he would do it again if confronted with the same situation. He said it was the third time in two years that his home had been broken into, and that he only wanted to detain Boland, according to an AAP report. "My proud home keeps getting broken into and robbed," said
Tomkins. "All I did was
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Bartman and Boland allege that the
Tomkins pulled Boland back through the river, stripped him naked, bound his wrists and then dragged him up an embankment by a rope tied around his neck. They also allege the Tomkins tied Bartman to a tree and forced him to watch as they threatened to cut off
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side of his temples, yelled racist taunts and hammered the boy's face with their gun butts. The Tomkins called the police and allegedly removed the noose from Boland's neck before they arrived. The police took Boland to Goondiwindi police station and charged him with break and enter.
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The local Aboriginal community was outraged when the Tomkins were handed down a A$ 500 fine each for their treatment of the four boys, who themselves were charged with breaking, entering and theft. The event made headlines in countries around the world, including the UK.
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Boland's family have said Boland's face was bruised and swollen, he had suffered several cuts on his body from being dragged around and had rope burns around his neck. Boland's family have said Boland was still in shock and vomited repeatedly on the way to the hospital.
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to a nearby Queensland property managed by David Hilary Tomkins (then 44 years old) and his son Clint Williams Tomkins (then 23 years old). The four boys, Alan Boland (16), Bevan "BJ" Bartman (19), Reg McGrady (23) and Jade, had said that they had previously bought
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arrived. The representative allegedly said that Boland was in no condition to give a statement, and ordered the boy be taken to hospital to be treated for his injuries, which he considered were extremely severe.
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The court case was held on 18 May 2005. At 9.30 am, two hours before the case, the police prosecutor told Boland's mother Rosalyn, Toomelah elder Ada Jarrett and a Toowoomba
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crop inside, but were discovered by the Tomkins. McGrady and Jade escaped to the other side of the river, but the other two, Bartman and Boland, were caught by the Tomkins.
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169:. Local Aboriginal leader Bert Button said the charge of assault causing bodily harm in company was an outrage. He demanded the two men be given murder charges.
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David and Clint Tomkins, a father and son managing the farm, allegedly beat Alan Boland and Bevan Bartman and dragged Boland around the property with a
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prosecutor claimed the Tomkins would walk free if Boland didn't arrive at the courthouse on time, said Jarrett and Mrs Boland.
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on 30 November 2004 was an attack by two white farmers on two Aboriginal boys found trespassing on their property near
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There was no appeal brought against the criminal case decision by the victims.
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from the Tomkins but had recently begun stealing it from the property instead.
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around his neck. The incident occurred just four days after the suspicious
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The four boys broke into a building with the intention of stealing from a
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Boland's toes with a pair of pliers and beat them both with sticks.
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had turned up to witness the court's proceedings, as had "Sugar"
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in a number of extra squad cars and reinforcements, including a
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representative that the Tomkins would only get a fine or a
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A large number of indigenous relatives and residents from
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Boland was then taken by the police to a holding cell in
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Bartman has said he managed to escape after he faked an
263:"Whites fined £200 for noose attack on Aborigine boy"
352:Queensland Criminal Code, 1899, Section 339 (3).
208:After the guilty verdict David Tomkins told the
167:Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission
64:On November 2004, four Indigenous boys from the
189:team that was stationed around the courthouse.
332:"Outrage over $ 500 fine for Qld noose attack"
192:ATSIC's Robinson called on Queensland Premier
213:detain one of the criminals for the police."
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383:Queensland Criminal Code, 1899, Section 335.
396:. Australian Associated Press. 18 May 2005
394:"Outcry as noose assault pair fined $ 500"
334:. Australian Associated Press. 26 May 2005
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48:of an Aboriginal man in the community of
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52:that saw the island community riot.
287:Gibbs, Stephen (3 December 2004).
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454:History of Indigenous Australians
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165:, former deputy chairman of the
416:"Anger over noose assault fine"
363:"Protesters outside Qld court"
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289:"Two charged on noose claims"
261:Squires, Nick (19 May 2004).
313:Two charged on noose claims
66:Toomelah Aboriginal Mission
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464:Attacks in Oceania in 2004
25:, a town on the border of
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418:. SBS News. 18 May 2005
365:. SBS News. 19 May 2005
173:the Tomkins' property.
46:death in police custody
444:History of Queensland
19:The Tomkins incident
459:Crime in Queensland
239:Racism in Australia
135:good behaviour bond
449:2004 in Australia
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145:The verdict
119:Tenterfield
60:The assault
50:Palm Island
23:Goondiwindi
438:Categories
245:References
155:Boggabilla
82:hydroponic
27:Queensland
201:Aftermath
176:The UK's
131:Legal Aid
106:Legal Aid
75:marijuana
35:Australia
217:See also
151:Toomelah
293:The Age
93:asthma
159:Moree
42:noose
424:2007
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