Malmesbury 14-year-old sentenced after pleading guilty to assault and harassment

A 14-year-old boy from Malmesbury has been sentenced in court after admitting to harassment and assault.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court yesterday (26 April).

He was handed a criminal behaviour order (CBO) with the condition to not cause harassment, alarm or distress to the residents or businesses of Malmesbury. This order will last for two years.

He was also given a nine-month referral order and two restraining orders not to contact the harassment victims, which will last for six months.

Wiltshire Police's neighbourhood sergeant Katharine Smith said: “This is a robust sentence and will hopefully encourage the teenager to see the error of his ways and encourage him to think about the choices he is making in life.

“The CBO is a positive step forwards and an acknowledgement by the court of his offending behaviour, which we understand has caused significant distress across the community recently.

“The referral order also means he will be required to attend a Youth Offender Panel which is designed to help him make amends for their crime.

“As these orders show, we take all forms of antisocial behaviour and harassment incredibly seriously and we will not hesitate to bring offenders to justice.”

Police constable Jo Phelps added: “We will always respond swiftly and robustly to reports of antisocial behaviour and harassment and will do all we can to stamp it out within our community.

“If you are a victim or a witness of antisocial behaviour, please report it to us. Your information could help to build a better picture of an incident and together with local authority and community partners we can take steps to resolve it."