Students sitting in Supreme Court left ‘distressed’ by graphic details

Several teenagers have been left distressed after hearing graphic details of James Dobbie’s crimes while they sat in the Supreme Court as part of a school program.

It’s raised questions about which cases are and aren’t appropriate for students to sit in on.

Channel 7 reporter Sharnelle Vella was also in court listening to the judgement as Dobbie was sentenced for horrific rapes and a murder.

“It’s one of the worst cases I’ve ever sat in on,” she told Neil Mitchell.

Vella said the students looked “happy and jovial” as they entered court.

That didn’t last long.

“I could see one student in particular becoming what I thought was quite distressed as they went into every single detail,” she said.

“There was more than one rape in that sentence.

“They looked quite upset.”

James Dobbie’s crimes are among the worst I’ve ever heard. There are ten high school students sitting in court listening to the detail of horrific rapes. They looked happy when they walked in. One now looks close to tears. I dare say an excursion they will never forget. pic.twitter.com/qOcLWUHktJ

— Sharnelle Vella (@SharnelleVella) April 28, 2019

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