A mother of five reportedly subjected her 12-year-old son to a distressing ordeal, where she held him over a fire and then attacked him physically, believing he had shared a ‘scary video’ with a friend. 

Pregnant Jade Johnson, 32, last month pleaded guilty to assaulting the boy at their Queenstown home on the evening of September 13, 2024. 

In the Supreme Court of Tasmania, details emerged of how the boy, referred to as ‘C’ due to legal protections, was violently mistreated by his mother in an incident that intensified rapidly.

C was initially struck on the behind with a shoe and whipped with a belt. The situation worsened as he was then held over a fire, dropped, and repeatedly slapped, kicked, and stomped on before he could escape.

The boy sustained a bleeding nose and five lacerations on his back, with one measuring 6 cm. He spent two months separated from his parents before returning home.

The court heard that C’s traumatic experience began shortly after returning to his home in Queenstown, located in Tasmania’s west, on September 13 after visiting a friend.

The friend’s mother soon informed Johnson that C had allegedly shown her child a scary video, a claim the 12-year-old denied when his parents confronted him. 

C went to his room and tried to go to sleep, but Johnson became upset because she believed her son was lying, the court heard.

Johnson and her partner, C’s father, then went into their child’s bedroom and threw water at him to wake him up so they could ‘chastise’ him further. 

C’s father then smacked him on the bottom twice with a shoe.

But Justice Tamara Jago said while the action’s of C’s father were ‘within the realm of reasonable discipline’, what Johnson did next was ‘entirely unjustifiable, and clearly criminal in nature’.

‘You picked up a belt from a nearby table, held it by the buckle and struck C to the arm and back with it,’ Ms Jago said.

‘You then picked C up by holding him behind his knees and neck and held him over a fireplace. There was a fire burning in it.

‘C, understandably scared and upset, screamed and tried to get away from the fire. You covered his mouth with your hand to stop him making any noise. 

‘You then dropped C, and he struck the metal barrier around the fireplace as he fell. 

‘Whilst C was lying on the floor, you stood on top of his back with both of your feet. You were wearing boots. You then kicked him to the body, including to the stomach and the side. You slapped him.’

Ms Jago said C’s father and sister then entered the room to find out what was going on and the 12-year-old took the opportunity to flee the house.

He hid in the next door neigbour’s yard for five minutes before he walked to the police station and was taken to hospital. 

A witness reported seeing C near the police station, in his pyjamas, crying with a bleeding nose, around 10.30pm. 

While being treated for his other injuries, hospital staff also noticed large bruises on both of his buttocks – including one which almost covered the entire right side – but Ms Jago said there was no evidence to conclude whether they occurred during the assault. 

The court heard Johnson was arrested and interviewed by police, where she admitted to assaulting her son, including stomping on his stomach and kicking him while he was on the ground, because she was still ‘fuming’ over the possible lie.

She also told officers that she didn’t intend to drop him and was just trying to scare him, that she was ‘projecting absolute hate and rage’, and that ‘everything got a bit blurry’ because she was agitated and full of adrenalin.

Her son was temporarily removed from the home while a child safety investigation took place. 

The court heard Johnson’s partner works full-time while she is a stay-at-home mother to children aged 13, nine, six, four, and 18 months, with a sixth child on the way. 

Ms Jago noted that Johnson was raised in a dysfunctional family as she was estranged from her father, is not close with her mother, and her childhood was ‘chaotic’ as the family frequently moved and various ‘stepfathers’ came in and out of her life.   

She fell pregnant at 17, then became a stay-at-home mum who struggled with several mental health difficulties, including post-natal depression. 

A report tendered in court by a psychiatrist noted Johnson suffers from ‘significant personality dysfunction’ as she appeared to have a ‘combination of traits’ seen in a cluster of personality disorders.

The psychiatrist found Johnson has an ‘unstable sense of self’, is ‘prone to impulsive and potentially self-damaging actions’ and has ‘difficulty in controlling anger’. 

In handing down her sentence, Justice Jago described Johnson’s behaviour as serious criminal conduct which was a ‘significant breach of trust’. 

‘C was a young child. He was vulnerable. He was entitled to your love, care and respect,’ Ms Jago said.

‘Instead, you assaulted him in a manner which caused him not only physical pain and harm, but undoubtedly caused him upset, stress and anxiety.’

‘Your anger was out of control, and in those circumstances, the potential for you to cause serious harm to C was real.’

Ms Jago said Johnson’s crime warranted jail time, but noted the mother had put in work since her offending to turn her life around, including by regularly seeing a psychologist and attending parenting programs. 

Ms Jago said she accepted Johnson’s submission that she was ashamed and was doing all that she could to ensure she does not act that way again. 

She sentenced Johnson to 12 months imprisonment, to be suspended for its entirety, under the condition she does not commit any further offences worthy of jail time within the next two years. 

‘I accept this incident has been a turning point for you,’ Ms Jago said.

‘Previously, you did not really understand or pay much regard to your mental health difficulties. 

‘You were living a fairly isolated life in Queenstown, just trying to get through each day and cope with the stresses of raising five children. 

‘You now appreciate you needed assistance.’