MOTHERS cried in Orange Local Court last week after magistrate Terry Lucas sentenced their teenage boys to three months in juvenile detention.
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Mr Lucas described the assault, carried out by the teenagers, against a third boy, as “a cowardly act” during sentencing.
Moments after the sentence was handed down, the boys’ solicitors Andrew Rolfe and Lee Dalton lodged an appeal against the sentence because they believed it was too severe.
The boys are on bail until the appeal is heard in Orange District Court in August.
The teenagers, a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old, pleaded not guilty to common assault but were convicted after a hearing.
In a statement to police, one of the boys said the other had jumped from behind a tree and pushed the victim onto a road and punched him in the ribs.
The victim suffered bruising, sore ribs and grazes.
One of the offenders told police both boys ran off after the incident, which happened after they were walking home from the PCYC after attending a boxing class.
The teenager who spoke with police claimed he was not involved in the assault.
“I do boxing up at PCYC with Justine and Helen Baker. I’d been in crap and that for using my skills outside the gym so I didn’t touch him because I knew something would happen, I would get charged or something,” he told officers.
Despite this claim, both teenagers were convicted.
In a separate incident, The older offender was also convicted of destroying property after he threw his scooter into the window of his mother’s house.