Street kid using cannabis since age eight
A Christchurch street kid who stole the donations box from the cardboard cathedral has admitted being a cannabis user since he was aged eight.
Sean Evan Cairns, now aged 18, has begun his first jail term after his resentencing in the Christchurch District Court today by Judge Brian Callaghan.
He had been sentenced by another judge in March, to a term of intensive supervision to be served at Odyssey House where he would undergo drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
Cairns lasted two weeks before he left the programme. Defence counsel Tom Smedley said Cairns was “unused to the structured environment with rules” and had poor coping mechanisms. He clashed with staff and absconded.
The court decided in April that he deserved another chance at rehabilitation and this time he lasted 10 days at Odyssey House before discharging himself.
That brought him back before court for resentencing on six charges of burglary, wilful damage, unlawfully getting into a car, and breach of supervision.
Mr Smedley told the court Cairns admitted being a cannabis user since the age of eight, and using alcohol since he as 14 – the important formative years of his life.
At the time of the offending he had been living on the streets, associating with other street kids, and offending to support his addiction to synthetic cannabis.
He urged the judge to allow home detention to be considered during the jail term if a suitable address became available.
Judge Callaghan said Cairns had burgled Christchurch cafes seeking money – including one break-in on Christmas Day – and had stolen the donations box from the cardboard cathedral.
He had come from a dysfunctional family, and had been in Child, Youth, and Family Service placements since the age of four. He had previously had some limited support from family members but had now “burnt his bridges”.
It was sad, but not surprising given the family background, to be sentencing someone who had been using cannabis from age eight, and drinking alcohol from his early teenage years, said the judge.
He reduced Cairns’ jail term because of his guilty pleas and his age, and jailed him for a year with permission to apply for home detention if a home became available. He also ordered special release conditions for six months, including a departmental rehabilitation programme, drug and alcohol treatment, and job training.
He did not order any reparations because Cairns had no way to pay it.
Category: Focus
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