The anguished father of a schoolgirl brutally murdered in a crime that shocked Australia reveals his worst fear about her killer

The father of a schoolgirl who was brutally murdered in a crime so unspeakable Australians will never know the full extent of it has said the justice system saw her killer’s punishment as “100 per cent wrong”.

Bridgette ‘Biddy’ Porter, 10, was killed in a horrific attack at a farmhouse in rural NSW in July 2020.

The identity of her killer, a mentally ill 14-year-old girl she knew, cannot be revealed for legal reasons.

Biddy’s injuries were so horrific that they were hidden from the public for 20 years.

Following advice from the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the family originally supported seeking a “special” verdict.

This meant that in 2021, a judge found the crime “proven, but (the defendant) is not criminally responsible” due to his mental health disabilities.

Biddy’s parents, Dominic and Rebekah, were told this would result in their daughter’s killer spending more time incarcerated under the care of the Mental Health Review Court, which controls her future release.

But both were outraged to discover she had been allowed to be released earlier this year.

Bridgette ‘Biddy’ Porter, 10, was killed in a horrific attack at a NSW farmhouse in 2020

The identity of her killer, a mentally ill 14-year-old girl she knew, cannot be revealed for legal reasons.

Dominic Porter, who was left with severe PTSD following the death of his daughter, feels let down by the justice system and is campaigning for changes to victims’ rights.

“They (the criminal justice system) got it 100 percent wrong. It’s in the detectives’ opinion. I think it’s in the opinion of the Australian public,” Porter told Daily Mail Australia.

The former bank manager fears his daughter’s killer will soon experience freedom – and angers that she has received more support than those left to pick up the pieces of her crimes.

“It will happen, she will walk free,” Mr. Porter told this publication.

‘She received more benefits inside the children’s prison, as I call it, in all aspects: mental health, physical care, accommodation and food: she is effectively paid to be in prison. And any member of the Australian public would not accept that.”

Meanwhile, after Biddy was murdered, her parents were only entitled to $7,500 in child support.

Mr Porter reserves particular ire for the DPP and MHRT and has called for an inquiry into both.

It’s a move that is supported by independent member for Orange Phillip Donato, who will present an e-petition signed by almost 40,000 to debate Biddy’s case on the floor of the NSW parliament next week.

“There needs to be some accountability,” Porter said.

‘You can’t say no one is responsible for wThis happened. And that’s basically what the Australian justice system did.

Biddy’s father Dominic Porter (pictured), who was left with severe PTSD by his daughter’s death, feels let down by the justice system and is campaigning for changes to victims’ rights

Porter said the DPP was a “force of its own” that paid little attention to victims’ wishes.

“They make decisions, they make changes, they do what they want and none of it takes the victim’s perspective into account,” he said.

‘It’s all about protecting the killer or perpetrator and your best interests.’

It’s a view supported by Biddy’s mother and Mr Porter’s ex-wife, Rebekah, who said on a recent episode of Spotlight that the family has not been given access to important court documents.

‘We had a brief meeting with the DPP before we went to trial, with them convincing us that the best course of action would be to go for the act proven but criminally not responsible due to mental illness, because that would mean she would spend a much more guarded,” she told the program.

It is understood that Mr Porter and his ex-wife Rebekah had around 90 meetings with the DPP.

But Mr Porter insists the system needs to be “reformed” to better support victims.

‘I want to change victims’ rights. I don’t want any other family to go through what we went through,” he said.

“I don’t want to blow smoke down my own chimney, so to speak, but I come from a pretty educated family. My father is a clinical psychologist.

«We have an extraordinary level of resources, which doesn’t make everything easier. We are unable to navigate the system.

‘But what happens when something like this happens to a family of lower socioeconomic status?

Mr Porter was a very successful bank manager, but is now unable to work and relies on Centrelink benefits.

“I’ve been a very successful bank manager for most of my career and now I can’t work,” he said.

Biddy’s mother, Rebekah (pictured), who said on a recent episode of Spotlight that the family was denied access to important court documents

‘I’m trapped. It’s completely paralyzing.

Porter claims the way the criminal justice system treated him “wouldn’t pass the pub test”.

‘I could walk into any pub in Australia now, today, next year, next week in five years and explain my story,’ he said

‘And would the Australian or the woman sitting at the bar believe what I went through? No, they wouldn’t do that.

He added: ‘I will fight until the day I die. That’s what Bridget would have wanted.

Biddy’s separated parents are being supported by Advocacy Australia in their campaign for justice.

“Unfortunately, Biddy’s family’s circumstances are not unique,” ​​said Clare Collins, president of Advocacy Australia.

‘With a gulf of inequality between victims of heinous crimes and perpetrators, there is something terribly wrong when NSW government agencies with responsibility for upholding victims’ rights fail to meet community expectations.’

Advocacy Australia is also calling for a coronial inquest to investigate whether Biddy’s murder could have been prevented.

The DPP released a statement in response to the Spotlight interview, where he expressed sympathy for Biddy’s parents but defended their approach.

“The Office maintained regular and ongoing contact with the family, responded to their questions whenever possible and at all stages took their views into account,” the spokesperson said.

They added: “The different approaches and possible outcomes were discussed with the family before the Crown determined how to proceed.

‘The family told the ODPP that they preferred to proceed with a special verdict, where the key question for the court was whether the defendant had a mental health disability defense available.’

The spokesman said that if a special verdict had not been followed, Biddy’s killer would likely have been “convicted of manslaughter on the basis of a substantial disability due to mental illness.”

And since the perpetrator was a child, “the law also recognizes that the younger the child, the less moral culpability they have, which would further reduce the length of any sentence imposed.”

‘When an accused is charged with murder but his mental disability leads the court to make a special verdict of act proven but not criminally responsible, he is placed in the custody of the Mental Health Review Tribunal (MHRT) as a forensic patient until are assessed as appropriate for release,” the spokesperson added.

“This involves considering a number of factors, including whether your release would endanger yourself or others.

‘Similar considerations arise when the MHRT is considering daily release. These are not decisions involving the ODPP.’

Daily Mail Australia has approached the DPP for further comment.

An MHRT spokesperson said it does not “comment on the details of any patient outside of the hearing/review process”.