A TEENAGE girl and her mother were threatened at knifepoint inside their family home at Charlestown during a distressing late-night home invasion.
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The woman said one intruder took a knife from the kitchen and wielded it, the other held a mobile phone.
The woman, who asked to remain anonymous for safety, said the ordeal had been filmed and posted online in a concerning trend she understood had been dubbed "creep and sleep".
"That in itself is a violation," the woman told the Newcastle Herald.
It was about 11.45pm on Friday and several family members living in the home on James Street had gone to bed, she said.
Her 17-year-old daughter was watching a movie when she heard suspicious noises in the kitchen, she said.
"She thought ... 'that sounds like someone creeping around'," the woman said.
She told the Herald her daughter saw a group of young people in the kitchen, and one grabbed a knife, while another was filming on a phone, and the two moved towards her.
The teenage girl ran into her mother's room and said: "Mum, there are people in the house."
We were lulled into a false sense of security, thinking we were in a decent area, we had all of those gates to get to our backyard, and we have five dogs.
- Charlestown resident
It all unfolded in a couple of chaotic minutes - the woman's husband scrambled out of bed and her daughter hid in the room - and she found herself standing in front of the person with the knife, she said.
"He basically just said to me, 'I want the keys to the BMW and I want all of the money'," she told the Herald.
She said she tried to find the keys for the vehicle but the group fled as residents of the home started waking up and time dragged on.
"One minute they were all there and the next minute, they were gone," the woman said.
She said the intruders had been through drawers in the kitchen and loungeroom but ended up taking nothing but some good kitchen knives.
She said her husband gave chase and saw three males get in a car, and got a partial number plate before he fell and injured his leg, and had to go to hospital.
She said her daughter was distressed but no one at the home was physically injured.
"We're fine, we're just cranky," she said.
The woman said she was told by police that groups of teenagers had been trying to pull off similar acts across Newcastle.
She said she was concerned they felt "invincible" because they were young, and that the "creep and sleep" element was frightening, with offenders trying to film people in bed.
"They're so brazen," she said.
"You would hope that if they can arrest these kids, the judges won't let them straight out this time."
The woman made a plea to the community to make home security a priority.
She said she had left her back door unlocked, but the group needed to navigate a tall front fence with a locked gate, and pool fences, to get to it.
"We were lulled into a false sense of security, thinking we were in a decent area, we had all of those gates to get to our backyard, and we have five dogs," she said.
"My message would be: Your back doors aren't safe. You can't assume that because it's your back door, you're okay."
She said the same went for bedroom windows.
"It was quite early in the evening as far as I'm concerned ... we still had lights on in the front of the house," she said.
"The police were here within minutes - they were amazing."
Police confirmed they were called to James Street at Charlestown just before midnight on May 17 after reports of a home invasion.
About 2.20am on May 18, Newcastle police tried to stop a stolen car they believed had been used in the home invasion.
A pursuit was sparked and called off a short time later, but officers soon homed in on three teenagers and arrested them at Rankin Park. A fourth fled, police said.
A 15-year-old girl was charged with driving a car without the consent of the owner, and a 14-year-old girl was charged with being carried in it.
A 14-year-old boy was released pending further investigation.
No charges were laid over the Charlestown break-in and the police investigation continues.
The state government introduced a new "post and boast" offence earlier this year, aimed at targeting "performance crime", where offenders posted footage of law-breaking online.
Anyone with information has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald. Email: afalkenmire@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald. Email: afalkenmire@austcommunitymedia.com.au
