Aborigine children actively using marijuana, having sex

Melbourne, June 21 : The Australian Crime Commission has said that it has handed to police and welfare agencies hundreds of cases of criminal conduct and neglect allegedly perpetrated in Aboriginal communities.

Based on intelligence gathered from 177 communities, indigenous children as young as seven are actively using marijuana and having sex, while there is widespread evidence of child sexual abuse.

The commission's National Indigenous Violence and Child Abuse Taskforce revealed on Friday that 340 reports of alleged criminal conduct and neglect of young children had been sent to law enforcement and partner agencies for further action.

ACC chief executive officer Alastair Milroy expressed concern that while marijuana had been prevalent in indigenous communities, there was evidence that heroin, speed and ecstasy was now being used.

"We are starting to see signs of amphetamine-type stimulants such as speed and ecstasy and heroin being available," News.com.au quoted him, as saying.

"If these types of stimulants are used by Aboriginals, they are not conditioned to this as some of the white community are, and it will be devastating. The more these communities are economically stable, and more money is available then drugs will come in. It is an area where we are gathering further intelligence with various police forces," he added.

Meanwhile, White truck drivers are buying sex from Aboriginal girls under 16 in several states, an ACC investigation has revealed.

In May, an ACC taskforce visited 142 communities across Australia, including the Northern Territory as part of the federal intervention to curb child sex abuse.

Speaking to the Bennelong Society conference in Melbourne, Milroy said the intelligence confirmed that earlier reports of Aboriginal teenage girls being targeted by white truck drivers offering cash for sex were not isolated incidents.

He said there were instances of child sexual abuse including sodomy and rape, while a high number of sexual assaults, pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections had been reported among children under the age of consent. ]

Intelligence had also confirmed examples of child sex offenders working with children in indigenous communities, Milroy added.

ANI