A 20-year-old man was refused bail yesterday for allegedly punching a 15-year-old boy in the head in an unprovoked attack outside Orange Central shopping centre on Saturday afternoon.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Joshua Staines will appear before Orange Local Court today charged with recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm for the alleged assault.
Police allege the boy was walking with friends at about 1pm on Saturday when Staines approached him and punched him in the head, knocking him off his feet.
The teenager sustained a fractured skull, lost consciousness for a short time and lost a tooth in the incident. He was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics before he was taken to Orange Health Service.
Staines is alleged to have left the scene, but police later arrested him at a unit in Margaret Street and took him to Orange police station following inquiries into the incident.
The boy remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.
No one else was injured during the incident and police said alcohol was not believed to be a factor.
Anyone with information about the incident should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.