Snowball ‘assault’ case against boy is dismissed
A MUM has described as ‘unbelievable’ a decision to haul her teenage son before a youth court for allegedly throwing a snowball at a girl.
The 15-year-old boy, from a village in the Harborough district, spent a night in the police cells following his arrest in February this year and has attended court on five occasions in the months since.
But magistrates at Leicester Youth Court threw out the case on Thursday last week after deciding there was no case to answer.
After the hearing, the boy’s mum, who the Mail has decided not to identify to protect the anonymity of her son, said she was angry the case even reached court in the first place.
She told the Mail: “What a waste of public money. It’s unbelievable really.
“The Crown Prosecution Service showed no common sense in going ahead with the prosecution. I just glad the magistrates saw it was a load of rubbish.”
The teenager was arrested on February 5 after a teenage girl complained he had thrown a snowball at her at a recreation ground the previous night, causing her an injury.
“They came at 7am and took him to Euston Street police station in Leicester,” said the boy’s mum. “They kept him all day and night and he went to court the next morning.”
Charged with assault by beating, the teenager was given a 7pm to 7am curfew by the courts as a condition of his bail.
At last Thursday’s hearing the teenage complainant and two other witnesses gave evidence.
None of them could say with 100 per cent certainty that the boy had targeted the girl.
A CPS spokesman said: “When this incident was charged, there was clear evidence that the complainant had been deliberately targeted and that this was more than just a youthful snowball fight.
“The evidence, including two witness statements, pointed to the fact that the defendant had made and thrown the snowball and made comments of a hostile nature immediately afterwards.
“This, coupled with the fact that the complainant was still recovering from a serious eye injury, meant that a court should be asked to judge the case.
“If, however, during the course of a hearing, evidence provided by these witnesses appears to fluctuate from the statements provided, a court can determine that there is no case to answer and dismiss the case.”
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Tuesday 21 May 2013
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