A 15-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to being involved in crashing a stolen car into police vehicles in Ballarat last week.
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Facing the Children's Court, the child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also pleaded guilty to several other offences.
It was alleged the child willfully destroyed $2500 of CCTV cameras and a window at a youth residential facility in January, as well as several shop thefts.
He also pleaded guilty to a charge of driving past a residential facility worker, and shouting he would run him over, according to the police summary.
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The most serious charges include stealing a vehicle from Lake Gardens in early April, with the police summary stating he was an occupant in the vehicle when it was pursued by police, and was arrested when it rammed police vehicles.
He was on bail at the time, and several counts of probation for prior offences. The magistrate was told a strong support network had been built around the boy, with representatives from several agencies, and detailed plans for re-engagement devised for his release.
The court was told the boy had an "extremely traumatic background", with his lawyer stating "when people find out the story behind him, one can't help but be sympathetic a little bit".
The magistrate told the boy the problem was the people he was associating with.
"We all know if you mix with the wrong people, you get into trouble," she said.
"The services are helping to work with you, everyone wants you to be doing things you enjoy ... but you shouldn't be in a car with a 26-year-old driving recklessly, that puts you at risk, you could be killed or someone else could be killed."
The boy was sentenced to probation until December 7.
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