Teen sentenced under brand new law

An Aussie teenager has been sentenced as part of a new law that recognises the death of an unborn child due to criminal conduct in Queensland.

Queensland tattoo artist Haylee Loccisano was 26 weeks pregnant when she was involved in a horror crash. Her daughter Celeste was born prematurely and died 30 minutes later.

A 17-year-old girl was charged over the head-on crash, with the court hearing how she crossed over double lines while looking at her passenger’s phone.

She was the first Australian to be charged under Sophie’s Law – causing grievous bodily harm to a pregnant person, destroying the life of an unborn child.

But the teenager was sentenced to just 100 hours of community service and disqualified from holding a licence for six months.

Outside court, Ms Loccisano told reporters the sentence “wasn’t enough”.

“It wasn’t enough for a life to be taken. I just wish that (Celeste) had more justice,” she said.

Ms Loccisano’s mother Teresa Burn – who was driving the car when Celeste was killed – told reporters outside of court she felt “disheartened”.

“She killed my granddaughter and nearly killed my daughter and she’s just walked away,” she said.

Ms Loccisano was also severely injured in the crash and required eight surgeries.

The court had previously heard how Ms Loccisano had had four miscarriages before falling pregnant with her “miracle baby”.

Celeste’s father and Hayley’s husband Connor Loccisano took to social media to express his anger at the sentence.

“Queensland court system is a failure,” he wrote.

When was the law introduced?

The new legislation – Sophie’s Law – came after a long campaign from parents Sarah and Peter Milosevic, whose unborn baby was killed by a drunk and drug-affected driver in 2014.

Ms Milosevic was 39 weeks pregnant when the crash occurred.

The driver was handed a $950 fine and a licence suspension for five months due to Queensland laws not recognising Sophie’s life as a factor of the sentencing.

The new law was brought into parliament in September last year – however, Ms Loccisano’s case is the first time it has been applied.

How does it work?

Queensland parliament passed the law for the killing of an unborn baby in September 2023, which means it is now recognised as an “aggravating factor” at sentencing for offenders.

This means judges are required to consider the fact when handing down a sentence for the offending.

The law also allows family members of the unborn child to deliver victim impact statements to the court and expands the eligibility for funeral financial assistance to include the funeral of the unborn child.