13-Year-Old Girl Facing 52 Charges Following Alleged Anti-Semitic Crime Spree

Three teenage girls have been charged with numerous offences after a string of crimes across Melbourne.

Signage on a police vehicle in Melbourne, Australia on Sept. 16, 2022. AAP Image/Diego Fedele

A 13-year-old girl faces 52 charges following a violent crime spree across Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs, where police allege she targeted Jewish residents and rammed commuters in a series of stolen vehicles.

According to Victoria Police, the Bayside girl was behind a series of incidents in stolen cars that targeted pedestrians and commuters in Ripponlea, Hampton and Caulfield.

Police allege the spree began on March 25 in a stolen black Hyundai sedan. Occupants were reportedly seen throwing eggs at pedestrians and shouting anti-Semitic slurs.

On March 28, police allege the same vehicle swerved toward Jewish families walking in Ripponlea. The group narrowly avoided being struck before the car, which had been stolen from a gym in Caulfield, fled the scene.

The investigation also linked the teenager to several other violent incidents:

• St Kilda: An occupant of a stolen silver SUV allegedly attempted to hit a cyclist with a car door before the vehicle collided with the bicycle. The cyclist was hospitalised.
• Elwood: Around midnight on March 31, two people on an e-scooter were allegedly rammed by a stolen Volkswagen Golf.
• Black Rock: The following day, police sighted the Golf driving over a footpath and fleeing at speed down the Nepean Highway.

The vehicle was eventually intercepted in East Malvern after police deployed tire deflation devices, known as “stop sticks.”

Extensive Charges

The 13-year-old driver has been remanded to appear in children’s court, facing 52 charges including:

• Reckless conduct endangering serious injury
• Theft of motor vehicles and burglary
• Handling stolen goods, and
• Threatening physical harm or property damage on the ground of a protected attribute.

Two other girls, aged 13 and 16, were charged with theft offences and received bail to appear in court at a later date.

“There is absolutely no place at all in our society for hate-based behaviour and such activity will not be tolerated,” Victoria Police said.

Rising Youth Crime

The incident comes as the latest figures from the Crime Statistics Agency show a significant rise in youth offending.

Recorded offences among girls aged 10 to 17 rose from 4,084 in 2016 to 6,246 in 2025, representing a nearly 53 percent increase in female youth offending over nine years.

Total youth crime across both genders reached 23,893 offences last year.

Australian Jewish Association CEO Robert Gregory said the community is feeling increasingly vulnerable.

“Australian Jews should be able to walk down the street without being abused, yet for many, that’s no longer the reality,” he told The Epoch Times.

“These incidents are happening far too often, and an increasing number of Jews are feeling unsafe and questioning whether they have a future in Australia.”

Police investigations are ongoing and anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.