Two teenagers aged 15 and 16 from Emmen have been sentenced to 100 hours of community service or training for public violence at Esdal College, half of which is conditional. A third fellow citizen (16) was given a community service order of 120 hours, of which 50 hours were conditional. He also had a pellet gun in his possession.
Due to his age, the lawsuit was heard behind closed doors. Last October 10, the three seriously assaulted a 15-year-old boy at the school in Emmen. The victim suffered a broken jaw.
He has been able to eat only liquid food for six weeks and still has not recovered. Another operation will follow in March. The victim had an argument with the sister of the 16-year-old suspect with the pellet gun.
The 15-year-old was beaten up by both 16-year-olds outside the building. This happened in front of the eyes of (young) fellow students. The 15-year-old suspect had previously had an altercation with the victim and interfered in the fight.
The beating was filmed with a telephone. The images were shown at the hearing.
The video shows the 15-year-old on his knees apologizing to the 16-year-old suspect and his sister. He is then knocked unconscious.
Some parents of the suspects could not watch the video, it was too intense for them. “When young people come to the juvenile court, the main focus is to prevent them from doing this again and, if necessary, help is provided to ensure that it never happens again,” the judge said during the ruling.
Teenagers do not always understand the consequences of their actions. She thought a (suspended) prison sentence was too harsh. Moreover, the three have not previously been convicted.
She also took into account that the fight was not an agreed work. The three suspects then showed great remorse. The parents intervened by putting their offspring under house arrest.
The 16-year-old with the pellet gun has been expelled from school. The two others were suspended for a while. Each must pay the victim 500 euros in damages.