A teenage boy who assaulted rising Perth soccer star Danny Hodgson two years ago, leaving him with a life-changing brain injury, has been arrested again after allegedly assaulting a woman while trying to steal from at a bottle shop in Geraldton.
The boy, now 19, was sentenced to three years and eight months behind bars in March 2022 for the attack on Hodgson and a string of other charges, including nine assaults and four robberies in the months leading up to the attack.
Danny Hodgson was a rising Perth soccer star before he was left fighting for his life following a cowardly, unprovoked attack. Credit: Nine News Perth
Ultimately, he spent just over a year at Banksia Hill Detention Centre, with WA Attorney-General John Quigley revealing on Thursday that during his incarceration, the teenager allegedly took part in a riot which he is also now facing charges over.
But the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was released in May this year. Months later, he was arrested again after allegedly attempting to steal alcohol from a Geraldton bottle shop.
He also allegedly punched a female worker in the face when she tried to intercept the theft.
The South Hedland man was then released on bail, despite staunch opposition from police.
“The court overruled the police and released him,” Quigley said outside parliament on Thursday.
“My information is that not only did he assault Mr Hodgson, but he was also involved in the Banksia Hill riots and there we have it that we’ve got people saying, these poor children, that the government is being too hard in incarcerating them, and now we’ve seen what happened with this particular offender.
“He is a hardened criminal, he is not a child, he is a hardened criminal.”
However, Quigley said the youth supervision board cancelled the teenager’s supervision order yesterday and issued a warrant for his arrest. He is now in the custody of South Hedland police.
Hodgson said the teenager’s case was an indictment on the justice system which he said had let him down.
“And prison is just a holiday camp for these people anyway. I’d rather be in prison than in the situation I’m in,” he told this masthead.
Hodgson’s life was changed irrevocably on September 5, 2021, after he had been enjoying a night out with teammates from ECU Joondalup after the final soccer game of the season.
Without warning, the boy, then just 15 years old, punched Hodgson in the head, causing him to fall backwards and hit his head on the ground.
Hodgson was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital with severe injuries and had emergency surgery for bleeding to the brain and a skull fracture.
He said there was “not really much point” to his life anymore.
“Before this happened, I would always set goals, I would be up and about every day,” he said.
“But now I’m just sitting in a chair, doing nothing. I’ve got to struggle for the rest of my life.”
Hodgson said the early release parole board had “blood in their hands”.
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