Revealed: The horrific torture three children dished out on a Smethwick brain-damaged teen
They also cruelly mocked his road accident and warned: “We know you have brain damage, but we are going to give it again.’’
The prosecutor said the victim had been aware of the potential danger of suffering another brain injury, which made the attacks all the more traumatic.
The youngster finally managed to escape and fled to his grandmother’s home, which was on the same street.
His tormentors shouted a series of threats as he ran away, including: “Go to the police and we’ll beat you up”.
Police officers found the traumatised victim at his grandmother’s home in a “seriously distressed state”.
All three defendants admitted assaulting and burning their victim.
But in police interviews they all tried to blame one another for the bulk of the violence.
Prosecutor John Attwood said they had all subjected the victim to a “prolonged ordeal in which he had been physically assaulted, humiliated, detained against his will – all for their apparent sport and entertainment.
“Wholly unjustified and deeply unpleasant... this was bullying of the most extreme kind.’’
Judge Robin Onions branded the three attackers cowards and bullies.
He sentenced the 15-year-old to 12 months detention, part of which related to his breaching of a previous supervision order. The two younger boys were given two-year supervision orders. They must take part in a surveillance and supervision programme and will be tagged and subject to curfews.
The judge repeatedly voiced his dismay at the age of the defendants.
The 15-year-old had an appalling school record, both for attendance and achievement. His two accomplices had no previous convictions, but reports showed they had difficult backgrounds and appalling school records.
The youngest, who was just 12 at the time of the attack but has now turned 13, had also been taught in isolation at school because he was “uncontrollably violent” towards teachers.
Background reports also indicated he purposefully hurt victims, and had asked one pupil if he could cut them with a piece of glass.
Looking at the boy, the judge said: “You have the face of an angel... but these are not the actions of an angel.”
Had he been older, the judge said he would have considered “detention for public protection”.
Addressing all three young defendants, he said: ‘‘You knew the victim was vulnerable, you knew he had been in a serious accident, that he had been in a coma.
“You were pretty sure he was a natural victim. “Would you have picked on someone bigger than you? Of course not. That makes you cowards and bullies, who fight someone who won’t fight back.
“You hit him, you humiliated him, you tried to set him on fire. You are really lucky that his hair didn’t catch fire.
“It’s just good fortune that it wasn’t worse than it was.
‘‘He must have been scared to death.’
Iain Farrimond, senior crown prosecutor with Wolverhampton Crown Prosecution Service, who prepared the case for court, said: “It took considerable courage for this particular victim to prepare himself to give evidence against his attackers in court.
“We had arranged for him to do so in a separate room, via video link. In the end it wasn’t needed.
“But I’d like to emphasise that we can offer protection and support in a number of ways to vulnerable victims, like the one in this case.”
Victim speaks out > > >
