Woman jailed for public nuisance after spinning child too quickly on playground merry-go-round

A woman who spun a stranger’s child around on a playground merry-go-round so fast he became upset and screamed for help, has been handed a six-month prison sentence. Kylie Radatti had to be restrained by two people before police arrived and arrested her at Justins Park in Burleigh, Queensland, Australia, on Sunday night. The 34-year-old pleaded guilty in Southport Magistrates Court to one count of public nuisance and was sentenced to six-months jail with immediate parole. Radatti said she was innocently playing with a group of kids before the fun took a turn for the worse. “I was just having a good time and I told one little kid, ‘I’m going to go fast, do you want to jump on?’ and he said he’d have a go,” she said.

“He had a bit of a scream then he got off and the other kids jumped on and off we went. There was one family that decided they wanted to ring the police and they hunted me down and handcuffed me in front of everyone.” Radatti added that she thought it was a little harsh for the police to arrest her. “They took me away from the park and wouldn’t even let me get my bag so I can’t even get into my house,” she said. “I was having a good night and everyone enjoyed me and there’s always got to be one who’s got to make a big deal of it.” Prosecutor Ben Fotheringham told the court when police arrived a witness said Radatti had encouraged their four-year-old boy to climb on to the merry-go-round.
“The defendant began spinning the merry-go-round faster and faster, causing the four-year-old to scream out for help,” he said. “It’s said the four-year-old was incredibly distressed from being spun around.” Mr Fotheringham said two people had to physically restrain Radatti to stop her spinning the child and to move her out of the way. Solicitor Matt Maloy said it was an “unusual” case of public nuisance as all Radatti was doing was spinning a child around on a playground. “My client instructs she had done that for a number of children on the evening in question,” he said. “When the four-year-old in question got off, more children got on, wanting her to do it with them.”
Mr Maloy said Radatti, who works as a dental assistant, said she was heavily intoxicated at the time. “This is not a matter that involves violence,” he said. “This is possibly what could best be described as poor decision making, but no other parents were opposed to this,” she said. “She was of the view that she was playing with the children and the children were enjoying it.” Magistrate Dermot Kehoe said it was a serious matter due to the risk of injury to the child. “It’s not fun and games to have a complete stranger going up and spinning children around,” he said. “If you don’t know the children, you shouldn’t be playing with them.” Mr Kehoe said Radatti had a three-page criminal history including other public nuisance type offences. She was sentenced to six months jail but was released immediately on parole.