WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES Angela Jarvis, from Scotland, has shared her child’s injuries after a teen attacked her in a skatepark. Her attacker is a repeat offender but has been let off the hooks in court
A furious mum has hit out at the justice system after a teen who knocked her autistic daughter unconscious and beat up several other children has been allowed to walk free from court despite carrying out the horrific attacks.
Angela Jarvis, 45, from Scotland, has been dealing with the “nightmare” aftermath of the incident which saw her daughter Abbie, 12, battered in a skatepark in Glasgow. Three years after the incident, Angela has shared a photograph of her daughter, with blood streaming down her face in hospital.
The attack was so severe that she was hospitalised for several days, with treatment including a deep gash on her head that had to be glued together. Last week, the 16-year-old attacker was let off during sentencing and had merely been referred back to the children’s reporter.
Angela believes her attacker, who we can not name for legal reasons, should have been locked up after she was convicted of a series of assaults on Abbie, as well as six other kids within an eight month period, at Dumbarton sheriff’s court in April.
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Speaking about the ordeal, Angela said: “I have shared the image of Abbie in hospital so that everyone can see the consequences of this attack. I understand that the justice system wants to help young offenders instead of locking them up, but you’ve got to look at the sheer level of violence here.
“How can somebody carry out acts of violence like this, repeatedly, and get away with it? It’s clear that this is a very dangerous individual and without a custodial sentence or other serious consequences, I fear she will only graduate into a more serious violent offender. It isn’t safe to have her out in the community.
“She is a danger to other adults and children and it is clear she needs psychological intervention in a setting where she won’t be a danger to others. At the very least, I would expect her to be tagged so authorities know where she is at all times. Abbie and the other victims have been badly let down by the youth justice system. We went through nearly three years of waiting for justice but we’re back to where we started because this girl was referred to the children’s reporter after she was arrested.”
Abbie’s attacker was 14 at the time she set upon Abbie after luring her to the skatepark in Drumchapel nearly three years ago. The terrifying incident saw Abbie suffer multiple blows and kicks to her head and body before she was eventually knocked unconscious. Around 10 onlookers filmed the sickening scene before uploading the video to social media. Abbie, now 14, has suffered from PTSD since the incident. Mum-of-four Angela says the incident has had a profound impact on her daughter’s day-to-day life as she struggles to leave the house and experiences intense flashbacks and nightmares, reports Daily Record.
She continued: “Abbie has been left with the consequences of her attack, yet this girl gets to walk free while my daughter lives in fear every single day. We won’t get the closure we need to move on now. Her attacker’s sentence sends a bold message to others – you can beat another kid black and blue but unless you’ve murdered them, you’ll walk free.”
Former Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill called on the authorities to “get their heads together” and make a final decision on the care of the young offender. He added that “sending reports back and forth” between the Procurator Fiscal and children’s panel was “serving nobody any good”.
He said: “I have got a great deal of sympathy for Abbie’s mum. Equally, we are aware that young offender’s institutes can become academies of crime. Therefore, I can see the logic of trying to avoid giving the young person a custodial sentence. Undoubtedly, this is a challenging child who is a danger to others.
“In this case, the offender does seem to have been put from pillar to post whereby she has been referred to the children’s panel again after sentencing. The issue of whatever is causing this child to misbehave in the manner that she is, is not being addressed.
“It’s time the authorities got their heads together and took action to ensure that the care that is necessary – and if that has to be secure for the safety of others – is carried out. Simply sending reports back and forth between the children’s reporter and Procurator Fiscal is serving nobody any good.”