DTO avoided for young person convicted of multiple serious offences

Violet Smart represented a 15-year-old boy convicted of s.18 GBH, robbery and 2x possession of a bladed article. He had offered pleas to the robbery and blade offences and was convicted of s.18 GBH following a trial. The victim suffered a single wound to the back, causing a punctured lung and requiring two days in intensive care as part of a longer hospital stay. The wound was inflicted with a machete-style knife and the incident was captured on CCTV.

Notwithstanding the seriousness of the offences, the court was persuaded, following submissions by Violet, that the correct sentence for the young person was not custody. Instead, in line with the guidance on sentencing children and young people which had been set out by Violet in a full sentencing note, the specific circumstances of the young person’s offending, his background and future prospects of rehabilitation were accepted and applied, resulting in him being sentenced to a YRO with ISS.

Violet Smart was instructed by Sheridan Joseph of Spence and Joseph Solicitors