Schoolgirl locked up after string of offences

A schoolgirl who committed a string of offences, including theft and burglary, has been locked up for six months. The 15-year-old, who can not be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to seven offences at Leicester Youth Court yesterday. She had previously appeared in court in February, for breaching an anti-social behaviour order. Yesterday, district judge Tim Daber said he had no option but to send her to a detention centre. He said: "The trust I put in you back in February when you appeared for the breach of an anti-social behaviour order has not been repaid. "I am sure it is not a conscious effort to do that but I can not let an offence of the seriousness of burglary go unpunished." The teenager pleaded guilty to four separate incidents in March – burglary with intent to steal, using threatening behaviour, criminal damage and stealing alcohol from a service station. She also pleaded guilty to stealing a bike worth £110 from a secure compound on April 9. She also admitted two breaches of an Asbo. Prosecutor Sally Cook told the court residents of Birstall reported hearing smashing glass at 2.45pm on March 25. She told the court a neighbour found a young person hiding near the rear of a house. Mrs Cook said after the 15-year-old was arrested three witnesses identified her as being at the property. A victim statement from a woman who lived at the house with her two young children said she had been left feeling vulnerable and anxious since the burglary. Kay Christison, defending, said the teenager was a vulnerable person who had engaged well with the Youth Offending Team in the past. Judge Taber said the teenager had a long criminal record but he hoped she would come out of the detention centre rehabilitated. http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Schoolgirl-locked-string-offences/story-15899996-detail/story.html
- posted by Shreekant on Saturday, April 28, 2012

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