The 17-year-old appeared before Enniskillen Magistrates Youth Court last Wednesday via video link from the Juvenile Justice Centre. He was charged with resisting police and assaulting following an incident on December 6 last year. 

The court was told police had been called to a road traffic incident in the Irvinestown area that day, and were on the look out for the youth, who had reportedly travelled in a vehicle to Enniskillen. When they found him he was arrested and cautioned, and initially replied to police “OK, I’m coming.” However, he then struggled and pulled away from the officers while being taken to the police car. 

A female officer pursued the youth, catching him by his top,  but he pulled away from her and fled. During the course of the struggle the officer’s finger was injured. He was apprehended a short time later. 

Defence solicitor Dara Montague said her client, who was currently serving a sentence in the Juvenile Justice Centre for another offence, but would be moved to Hydebank when he turned 18 later this year, to serve out the remainder of his sentence, which is due to run until February, 2017.

As such, Ms Montague asked for the court to treat him as “sympathetically as possible” in sentencing. District Judge Nigel Broderick, referring to reports, commented that the youth appeared to be making good progress in the youth detention centre. 

Judge Broderick said, while stressing it was a serious matter involving not just a police officer but a female police officer, the offence was overall “not the most serious” when put in context and added the officer suffered no significant injuries. 

Rather than adding to his current prison sentence, Judge Broderick said he instead wanted to “leave something hanging over him” and imposed a 12 month conditional discharge on the youth. That means if he does not reoffend within the next year the matter will be disposed of, however if he does reoffend he will be brought back before the courts for further sentencing.