Probation for disruptive teen who assaulted headteacher

Wednesday 27 June 2018

A 14-year-old boy who committed a series of offences between November 2017 and May 2018, including disrupting classes and assaulting a headteacher, has been put on probation for nine months and told not to mix with the wrong people.

The boy's mum told the Youth Court that his behaviour had improved in the past four weeks.

The case was heard by the Youth Court panel, chaired by Magistrate Bridget Shaw, sitting with David McFadzean and Fiona Phipps.

Outlining the facts, St. Helier Centenier Paul Huelin said on 23 February, the police were called to Liberation Station following a complaint from a member of the public. An officer spoke to the boy and told him to watch his language, but carried on using various expletives and the officer warned the boy he would be arrested. At this point, the court heard that the boy puffed out his chest and told the officer, "I'm going to *** kill you, you tw*t" and was arrested.

Pictured: The boy kept on using various expletives, leading a police officer to arrest him.

In early March, the boy was arrested on suspicion of setting fire to a bin in town. 

On 22 March, the boy and a friend caused disruption at school. They refused to leave when the caretaker asked them to, shouted abuse at him and threatened to knock him out. 

On 20 April, the boy stole perfume from Boots and later on from De Gruchy's. On the latter occasion, he was rude to the attending police officer, refusing to cooperate and becoming aggressive, forcing the officer to call for assistance. 

On 17 May, the boy, and a number of students, disturbed classes at a school. The boys pushed the headteacher in the chest and later spat in a police officer's face. 

Pictured: The teen stole perfume from Boots and De Gruchy's.

Advocate James Turnbull said that there had been a clear escalation in the boy's offending, from being disruptive to resisting arrest. He said that luckily no lasting injury had been caused to anyone but that the boy's behaviour was still of concern.

He told Court that since his arrest, the boy had stayed out of trouble, "something he was struggling to do before." He explained that the boy's offending was linked to his interaction with a group of youths who "egg each other on" to do things. Advocate Turnbull told Court that the boy's friends had got him into trouble, adding: "He is now aware of the consequences of reacting to those situations and to friends that are inclined to behave in this way."

Advocate Turnbull said that since the boy had returned to school on an alternative curriculum, his behaviour had improved. He said the boy, who is very close to his mother and siblings, was now in a "happy and stable environment," and would work with the probation service to progress positively.

Pictured: The Probation and Aftercare Service. 

Returning the sentence, Magistrate Bridget Shaw said that the boy's offences "actually hurt people financially and emotionally." "If you go around shouting and screaming you upset people and make them worried about going to work," she added. "The caretaker doesn’t deserve coming for work and having someone shouting abuse at him and making upsetting comments about him."

She also told the boy that had his mother not been on income support, the Panel would have made a compensation order. "You have to think about the effect your behaviour has on other people... You have to think what impact £700 would have had on your mother and the rest of the family if the level of income hadn’t stopped us from making an order."

She sentenced the boy to nine months of probation to "help him instead of punishing him."