Teenagers admit attack on Goths

Teenagers admit attack on Goths
Saturday, January 31, 2009, 08:31TEENAGERS have admitted drunkenly and "ferociously" attacking another group of young people who they targeted because they were 'Goths'.
The three boys, who cannot be identified because of their age, all pleaded guilty to affray over the incident in Sidmouth, at Exeter Crown Court yesterday.
They are a 16-year-old and 14-year-old from the town and a 15-year-old who lives nearby.
The affray involves using or threatening unlawful violence, in an incident on June 28 last year.
Prosecutor Mary McCarthy said the gang attacked a group of young people simply because they were dressed in the 'Goth' style.
She said: "This was a group who attacked another group of youngsters who were enjoying a fire in a field near Sidmouth. They were dressed as Goths and that seems to be the reason why they were attacked.
"It appears this group specifically went to the area where the other group were to attack them. The defendants approached them and were all under the influence of alcohol."
She said that the 16-year-old began the attack and the others joined in.
"It was ferocious," she said. "They kicked the other youngsters to the ground, including a female complainant."
The victims did not have any lasting injuries, such as broken bones, but were badly bruised and also suffered cuts.
The 16-year-old has previous convictions for assault and actual bodily harm, for which he has received an absolute discharge, but the other two defendants do not have a criminal record.
Emily Pitts, representing the 16-year-old, said he was now doing well at school and would benefit from help from the youth offending team.
There was no mitigation at this stage on behalf of the other two boys.
Judge Graham Cottle said the trio would be sentenced at youth court, in the Central Devon Magistrates Court in Exeter.
He released them on bail to be sentenced there on a date to be set. The judge told them: "The fact you are granted bail doesn't necessarily mean you will not get detention and training orders," although he had earlier said that a community sentence could be considered


I guess I missed this story last year? It makes me sad that the kids doing these kinds of things just seem to get younger and younger.

And so it continues.
Thank Goddess this attack wasn't half as vicious as the one on Sophie and her boyfriend... though it just as easily escalated to that point.
It's a shame that a "lenient" punishment is even being considered. Such hate crimes should be taken seriously and this should be an opportunity to show that it will NOT be tolerated again/anymore.
I think the 14 and 15 year old should get sent to military school, juvie, or something along those lines and the 16 year old should be tried and sentenced as an adult.

Community service is just a slap on the wrist that wont change a THING within these adolescents nor the community.

Ravenwind, I completely agree with you, particularly the sentencing you suggest.

These "children" had a choice: they saw a group of people who were somehow different from them, and had the option of a) walking past them or b) inflicting physical/emotional damage that they would never want inflicted on themselves. I can't understand why they chose b, but then, I can't understand why anyone would.

And you know that if the goth kids fought back, they would most likely receive equal or worse punishment than the perpetrators -- because they're "those scary kids in black."

I would just like to say that people who think that so called 'children' don't know what they are doing...well that is incorrect.
Working at a high school I see it. They know more about things then i ever did when I was in high school.
Trial them like adults. Plain and simple. They know more about what they are doing then we give them credit for. They want to act all high and mighty. They want to be like one of 'the big boys'
They want to grow up before their time. Sentence them that way because they totally know what the hell they are doing.
Okay, I'm done.

I cant believe that I missed this!

Of course they should be tried as adults. I dont know about anywhere else but in England and Wales jurisdiction only children of ten years and under lack legal capacity and are presumed not to know right from wrong (rubbish in my opinion but there you go).