Youth branded ‘nasty bully’ by judge after robbing ‘terrified’ Bulwell schoolboys

The attacks were carried out last May by a group of up to four young men near Bulwell Academy, where the boys, aged 13 to 16, were pupils.

When one of the attackers -- a 17-year-old youth -- appeared at Nottingham Crown Court, he was branded by Judge Andrew Hamilton as “a nasty bully”.

The 17-year-old, who lives in Nottingham but cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to two years in a detention centre.

Judge Hamilton told him: “These boys were terrified. They lost not only their phones but also their confidence.

“What induced you to act like this, I have no idea. Maybe you were trying to impress or maybe the others influenced you. But if you were older, you would have been looking at five years’ imprisonment.”

The youth pleaded guilty to four charges of robbery and three charges of attempted robbery.

Steven Coupland (prosecuting) said the first attack was with another man against a 14-year-old boy at about 4.30 pm on Monday 12th May. The boy was grabbed before his iphone, a present from his mother, was taken from his pockets.

“Twenty minutes later, a 16-year-old was attacked in an identical way,” said Mr Coupland. “He was also slapped around the head twice. He had saved up to buy his iphone by working part-time.”

The other five charges stemmed from attacks on Thursday 22nd May, the court heard. One was committed on the top deck of a bus where CCTV cameras captured the youth and another man, 20-year-old Alex Amanuel.

The targeted boy was punched in the head but managed to escape after shouting for help from the bus driver,” said Mr Coupland.

Later that afternoon, four other boys were confronted by the youth and three others who were “idling in an alleyway”. One boy had his belt, as well as his phone, stolen and was told he would be stabbed as “a sharp object was pressed against his thigh”.

Mr Coupland said all the boys spoke afterwards of how the attacks had left them in shock, in fear and scared to leave their homes.

Adrian Reynolds (defending) said the 17-year-old youth had “the decency and courage” to admit the offences as soon as he was arrested, and had not been in trouble since.

“How he was influenced by the others in the group, we cannot say with any certainty,” said Mr Reynolds. “All we can say is that they are conspicuously older.

“It was his first brush with the law, but he has demonstrated an ability to mend his ways.”

Amanuel, of Stockwell Park Road, London, pleads guilty to one charge of attempted robbery. His case was adjourned for a month for a pre-sentence report to be prepared by probation officers.