A “DAMAGED” teenager, said to have been sexually, physically and emotionally abused as a child, involved two brothers in indecent acts in a Nelson back street.
Daniel Ash (17) was given a three-year youth rehabilitation order after abusing an eight-year-old and an 11-year-old in the rear yard of a derelict house in Pendle Street. Prosecutor Mr Martin Hackett said that the trio had gone there after hanging around the town’s Morrison’s store on February 16th.
The younger of the two brothers ran away from the scene to go and speak to his mother, and was said to have told her “He (Ash) is doing rude things”,
The 11-year-old was later found, but was said to have run away from his mother and brother, to go and see a family friend. He said he feared he “would be in trouble because I was involved in it”.
Ash, who now lives at a residential home in Cambridgeshire, pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual activity with a child and sexual assault. He must also adhere to an accredited programme, designed for him by the probation service.
And the teenager must not have contact with children under the age of 16, unless supervised by an adult over 21 for the next two-and-a-half years.
Mr Robert Elias (defending) said Ash, who had no previous convictions and who turns 18 in spring, is “young beyond his biological age” and that he had been “damaged through no fault of his own” since the age of five.
He said: “Once he is 18, he is going to have to be incredibly careful.
“He is damaged, and he does behave from time to time impulsively.
“He needs help to grow up, and he will not get that being bullied in prison.
“He is a little bit like a rabbit caught in headlights in a car.”
Following the pre-sentence report, and a 46-page psychological report, Judge Beverley Lunt decided the order would be the best way for her to “protect the public”.
She said: “You are only 17 years of age. You have pleaded guilty to three serious offences relating to two young boys.
“There is no doubt that you have suffered your own horrendous experiences.
“It seems clear that this is one of those sad cases where the victim then becomes the persecutor.”