Teenager hit boy over head with bottle and held him at 'knifepoint'

The victim, a 15-year-old boy, believed he was selling a vape to Joshua Wharton.

But instead, he was ‘lured’ to the scene in Padgate and attacked by Wharton who was wearing a balaclava and accompanied by another teenager.

The victim and Wharton did not know each other.

Wharton appeared before Liverpool Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to robbery.

Prosecuting, Simon Rodgers said the offences took place on March 8 last year.

The victim, a 15-year-old boy, had arranged to sell a vape to Wharton, of Rudloe Close, Padgate, and his friend who is being dealt with by the courts separately.

The boys arranged to meet at Vulcan Park at night, but the location was then changed to underneath a subway.

Mr Rodgers said that on the night, Wharton and his friend didn’t turn up, so the victim and his girlfriend decided to leave so started to walk home.

CCTV footage was shown to the court of Wharton, who was holding an empty wine bottle by the neck, and his friend, who were both wearing dark clothing and balaclavas, then walking behind the victim and his girlfriend.

Mr Rodgers said that Wharton then came from behind the victim and hit him over the head with a bottle, causing him to ‘faceplant’ the floor and lose consciousness.

When the boy regained consciousness, Wharton was leaning over him with a knife and telling him to empty his pockets.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how the victim was able to get up and run away ‘as fast as he could’.

When the boy got home, he found his trainers had been stolen and that he had slash marks all over his coat.

He had a laceration to the back of his head from the bottle and an injury above his eye.

Mr Rodgers said that when the victim’s girlfriend had tried to check on him, Wharton and his friend threatened her and told her to leave.

She ran away and was so terrified that she resorted to hiding inside of a bin.

Officers were able to track down Wharton’s friend via his Snapchat identity and when they turned up at his address, both boys were there.

Wharton told officers: “You will probably want to take me as well.”

When asked why, he responded: “Because I am the one who hurt the kid.”

A victim impact statement was read to the court which revealed that the boy feels anxious following the incident, that he looks over his shoulder when out, and that sometimes he feels reluctant to leave the house.

The court heard that as Wharton was 17 at the time of the offence, adult sentencing guidelines do not apply to him.

Defending, Eve Salter said that the offence dates back to more than a year, and since it was committed, Wharton has used the time to show he can be a ‘law-abiding citizen’.

She said that he has now moved addresses and cares for a man with a number of health issues.

Ms Salter said how the defendant, who suffers from anxiety and depression, and has ADHD, has been trying to get his life back on track since the offence.

Before sentencing, District Judge John McGarva: “The victim was enticed by you thinking he was going to sell a vape, he was lured to the scene.

“The pair of you laid in wait and disguised yourselves with balaclavas.

“You are the one who used all of the violence.

“I have to view this as a very serious offence.”

The judge said how the starting point for the offence would have been six years in prison if Wharton was an adult when he committed the offence.

But as he was 17, adult guidelines do not apply.

Wharton was handed a 12-month community order in which he must complete up to 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 200 hours of unpaid work.

He was also handed a five-year restraining order against the victim and his girlfriend.