Please help me ?

ATTN: WARNING triggering topic

I NEED HELP TO GET JUSTICE FOR MY SON

Hi everyone, bare with me as this is a long story but I am feeling frustrated, hurt and let down by our criminal system.

A few weeks ago I found out due to odd behaviour from my son (I’ll call him DS from now on) that he had been being molested several times by my 14 year old neighbour (I will call him 14 from now on). He also informed my that 14 had been molesting his own 6 year old brother.

As soon as I found out I told the police. They came around for a statement but despite there being a danger to 14’s younger brother they decided not to go that night to talk to 14 because of the late hour and promised they would be around by 7:30 am the next morning.

The next day after several phone calls and me taking DS in to give a statement they still hadn’t gotten to 14’s house. It took them until 9 pm the next night to make the visit. After they took 14’s younger brother away for questioning they returned and took 14 into custody. As far as I was aware he was in foster care from then on (with his nan).

JIRT (joint investigation response team) who is charged to deal with this put an AVO on 14 for my son and 14’s brother. In this time the mother has stood out the front of her house and yelled at my neighbours and visitors, she has told everyone who has asked her about the cops visit that it is because my son is bad and they were giving statements about me, she has got her two younger kids to abuse my kids and put the hose on them. She has also called my son a filthy little liar. Despite tampering with a witness, abuse etc the police just tell me to move and there is nothing they can do. I am trying to move, the owner is selling the property because of this and I have two weeks to move, no agencies will offer me accommodation except in the area I am in which I have no support network and I will run into 14 at the shops or schools. I am not even sure if 14’s school is aware and he goes to a school that has kids his victim's age at it (he has just turned 14 but will be tried as a 13 year old because I reported it just before his birthday which makes it even harder).

Several times I have been asked by departments if I was sure I wanted this boy charged. My son has changed dramatically in behaviour since the abuse started and now I know why. Of course I want him charged, he ruined my son's innocence and he groomed me and my family. He also isn’t admitting or taking responsibility for his actions so he is not remorseful. He also has tried to start the grooming process with another boy but nobody has organised an interview for this child yet even though they are aware about it.

His mother won’t press charges for 14’s younger brother which makes me angry that my son’s the only one, so potentially not getting a charge on the boy but also sad for the 6 year old who’s own mother is telling him it didn’t happen and that no one believes him. I only hope 14 doesn’t get to live back at home with him to continue the abuse. The mother is always leaving her 14 year old alone to baby sit the kids while she is at work and one time let her boyfriend break 14 year old's arm. To say 14 has been severely neglected and let down by the system is an understatement but that does not mean I don’t want justice.

Last night I found out that 14 is back next door, his brother isn’t home but I thought the AVO would mean my son was protected but apparently there is no distance on it and they won’t stop him from being with his mum. So now he stands in his driveway looking into my son's bedroom window. The advice from the Cessnock cops “shut your curtains”. I have young kids who open the curtains, my DS is not sleeping and is scared to go to the car, I have to carry him there. The cops are pretty much treating me like a serial pest because I keep ringing them scared and wanting some support for my son. His counselling appointments for my son are two weeks apart and he is not coping, he just started kindergarten so to get him out of the area I am driving 45 min there and back twice a day for an out of area school.

The detective in charge at JIRT while she believed the boys despite my neighbour trying to get them to lie has said that they may not be even able to charge him. The boy broke the avo by messaging me that he wasn’t gay and he did not get in trouble for this contact as it was to me not my son, even though the AVO states he can’t harass anyone who lives with my son.

I feel so alone, I have little support as it is and now the people who are supposed to help you and care about your children are basically leaving it up to me to solve. They have even said if this was due to domestic violence we would have been moved by now but I guess a 5 year being molested isn’t serious enough, it seems that because the perpetrator is himself a kid that that makes it less serious.

The mother has also got an AVO out on me by lying to the court. I will admit I did abuse her, what mother wouldn’t when she attacks your kids by telling them they are filthy liars and their mum is a bad mum. But I never touched her or went on her property which she is claiming, it was all verbal in response to her attacking us first. I will of course fight this but it’s another kick to the guts on top of what my son and me are dealing with. I have people in the street who witnessed this and are willing to give statements but it seems the cops don’t want to deal with it.

I feel like I have let my son down by not realising what was going on and now I can’t try to get him the justice he deserves because the abuser was a child himself and is being more protected than my son.

If anyone has any contacts or advice on where I can go from here to make my son safe I would be so grateful.

It seems victims are just a nuisance to police when they are just trying to get justice. I am heartbroken.