17 year old with aspergers tortured. Attackers walk free

[Grace]

I have just read with total horror the ordeal of a 17 year old boy with aspergers, who has been subjected to the most horrific ordeal at the hands of 3 thugs.

 

The boy's name has been kept secret, but the attackers' names are Jack Bolton, Nathan Marshall and Andrew Griffin; if you'd like to google the case.

 

There are calls from the police, the relatives of the boy etc to have a review of this and push for a more suitable sentence than community service!

 

What they did was nothing less than torture and I just simply can't believe they are allowed to walk free.

 

Does anyone know how to help this family get justice in the form of a petition or similar?

 

I was tempted to write directly to Kenneth Clark, but was wondering how effective this might be?

 

Grace/x

Edited October 12, 2010 by call me jaded
To add warning note to thread title

[Suze]

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1345341_torture_victim_left_scared_of_everything

[Suze]

Shocking to say the least, I cannot believe that they were,nt given prison sentences.The nature of the crime does have sinister undertones as mentioned in the article , the 3 look like they are on the rocky road to becoming very serious offenders , commiting such a sick , horrendous attack.

Edited October 12, 2010 by Suze

[Grace]

Yes,shocking. This is what another paper said:

 

During a sickening spree of violence the three thugs kicked and stamped on his head, repeatedly punched him in the chest, beat him with a tennis racket and then threw him down a steep embankment.

 

The terrified teenager – who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism – was also pelted with dog mess, had his limbs scratched with sandpaper and was forced to drink vodka and gin until he passed out.

Mobile phone footage showed the yobs laughing and joking as they made him endure other abuse and, in a final humiliating assault, they applied adhesive tape to his genital area before ripping the tape off.

[call me jaded]

Quite sickening.

 

Just modified the title of the thread so that readers can have an indication of the graphic content.

[Sally44]

It is unbelieveable. Yes, I think it is worth sending your views to Kenneth Clarke. This was not a one off unplanned event (which is also unacceptable). It was over a period of weeks, it was planned and filmed. And they must have known that he had special needs.

If this had happened to an animal there would have been outrage.

[Sally44]

I have sent the following letter to my MP via www.writetothem.com

 

 

"I am writing to you about the following link:-

 

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1345341_

torture_victim_left_scared_of_everything

 

This teenager has Aspergers, a form of autism. He was subjected to violence and abuse over a period of some weeks. The article goes into some detail, and I am sure you can find out the finer points of the case.

 

As he has a form of autism he would have had difficulties with understanding the situation and may not have initially understood that these attacks were intentional. Indeed he believed these three men were his 'friends' and that his injuries were due to play fighting.

 

The escalation of the attacks and injuries also concerns me. These men only stopped when they were found out.

 

After the Fiona Pilkington case, there was uproar at how a woman and her disabled child had been systematically bullied to the point of taking their own lives.

 

Yet here is another teenager with special needs, who was attacked over a considerable length of time to the extent that he was kept captive for three days and his experience has been called "torture". Yet the culprits only get community service?!

 

This was not a one off attack (which would also have been unacceptable). It was persistent, planned and brutal. It was filmed, and there was a sexual nature to these attacks.

 

These three men remain a danger to other children.

 

I would like to know what professional help or support is being offered to this autistic teenager and his family?

 

I would like to see the sentences of these three men increased and I would like to be assured that they are on the sex offenders register."

[Grace]

Hi Sally,

 

Great letter.

 

I wrote to Kenneth Clarke; can't remember what I said, but similarly pushed for justice for the family and an acknowledgement of the severity and seriousness of the crime.

 

I believe the torture of vulnerable children/adults should receive the heaviest of sentences.

 

Grace/x

[CEJesson]

I read about this in the Telegraph, it shocked me terribly and was a well written article. It showed the crushing sense of despair at the legal framework and other stakeholders to push out this disgusting behaviour.