Teenage boy sent to prison after assaulting man in his bed

Thursday 17 August 2017

A 16-year-old boy was sentenced to seven months in prison by the Youth Court on Tuesday after he committed a grave and criminal assault on a man in his own bed.

The teenager was already under a probation order after he assaulted a 15-year-old boy outside a shop at Cheapside.

On 30 June, the teenager was with a friend and saw her get in an argument with her dad. Later in the day, the teenager attacked the man in the bedroom of his own home. He jumped on his bed and shouted "If you ever hit your daughter again I will kill you." He then went on to hit him in the head repeatedly in what the man described as a sustained and continued assault. The teenager grabbed a lamp and threw it at the man. The lamp hit the back of his head causing deep injuries.

The victim said he was extremely scared and felt helpless. His partner said that when she came into the bedroom the bed was soaked in blood and there was a broken lamp on the floor. In a victim impact statement, the man said that he no longer feels safe in his own home since the incident. "I have lived there for eight years, but I no longer wish to live there, we live in fear." The man also submitted a claim for compensation.

The teenager was under a probation order and bound over at the time the assault took place, having previously assaulted a 15-year-old boy outside a shop at Cheapside in January 2017. 

His advocate, Adam Harrison told the court that the teenager had an unsettled upbringing which had an impact on his behaviour. He also explained he had recently been considered by agencies as at a significant risk of emotional harm and that he suffered from PTSD as a consequence of his experiences. He added there was a direct link between his condition and his offending, quoting a social enquiry report that noted that the assault  was a carbon copy of an assault he endured in the past. 

Advocate Harrison said: "This is no excuse for his conduct and it is clearly concerning he reacts in the way he does. However, he appears to show some hindsight regarding his issues and how to address them."

The advocate said that his client accepted this was a serious grave and criminal assault and that it was aggravated by his recent record. He told the court he was working with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, attending therapeutic appointments and showing positive signs that suggest the work may yield positive results.

He urged the court to give the teenager further time to work on his issues in light of his progress. He said: "He is aware this is his last chance. He has expressed regret. This is a one-off event that happened in light of a set of particular circumstances that are unlikely to be repeated."

Sarah Fitz, the Youth Court Chairperson, said that the decision of the panel was not an easy one to make. She said they had considered the injuries sustained by the victim as well as the efforts from the teenager to tackle some of the issues he had.  

She said: "This is a very serious instance because of the fact the assault was committed in somebody’s own home, while they were in bed and the fact it was so serious they were in such fear and continue to be in considerable fear. This puts you in breach of community service which was imposed following a previous grave and criminal assault. We have two serious acts of violence in quite a short time with an increase of offences. The court does not pass a sentence of youth detention, unless there is no other way of dealing with the person that is appropriate."

The panel eventually decided, after careful thought, that a custodial sentence of five months for the grave and criminal assault and a further two months for the breach of community service was appropriate, given that the teenager failed to respond to non custodial sentences."

The teenager broke down in tears in his father's arms when the sentence was handed. Mrs Fitz told him: "It doesn’t have to be a negative outcome. you can make the best of your time at Greenfields."