Boy, 15, sentenced after admitting to threatening his mother

A 15-year-old boy has been placed on probation for two years after admitting to threatening his mother.

Magistrate Doreen Clarke, presiding the Court of Magistrates, heard prosecuting police inspector Audrey Micallef explain how the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had threatened his mother in the presence of his sister on 24 August last year and in the days and weeks leading up to that date.

The inspector told the court that during that period, the teen had harassed his mother, threatened her and also thrown objects at her.

In her decision on the matter, the magistrate said that although the offences with which the youth was being charged were grave, there were also other factors to be considered.

In addition to his age, the magistrate noted from social workers’ reports, that his behaviour was the result of negative experiences during his childhood, as well as the bad company he spent a lot of time with, as well as his increasing use of cannabis.

The court observed that the accused’s case had been followed by social workers since May 2020 and that before the incident he had been refusing most of the assistance he was being offered.

His behaviour had changed after spending several weeks in custody, however and it appeared that he was now ready to undergo drug rehabilitation, the court was told.

Even after his mother accepted him back into the family home, the accused had once again started trouble. His father had also initially refused to give the written consent required for the son to start rehab, the court observed. 

Having seen the evidence, the court placed the accused on probation for two years, saying it was going to give the youth an opportunity to rehabilitate himself.