Boy, 17, given seven-year sentence for machete attack

A 17-year-old boy was given a seven-year sentence for attacking a university student with a knife, described as a machete or a meat cleaver, in the North Laine area of Brighton.

It was one of several offences committed by the boy, who cannot be named by law. He was sentenced to four years in custody and three years on extended licence after being deemed dangerous.

He was told that he must serve at least two thirds of the custodial sentence before being considered for parole and would remain on licence for the rest of the seven-year term.

The boy, who grew up in Whitehawk and has lived in Woodingdean and near Hove station, had had a wretched and miserable life, suffering a catalogue of neglect, abuse and exploitation, Lewes Crown Court was told.

The youth admitted assaulting taxi driver Hashmatullah Elhali, causing him grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, on Monday 12 December 2022.

Tim Sleigh-Johnson, prosecuting, said that he was 15 when he hit Mr Elhali in the face with a spirits bottle and smashed it over his head.

The youth also pleaded guilty to assaulting three students in Upper Gardner Street, Brighton, earlier this year, on the night of Friday 12 January, including Maisie Yeo.

He admitted having a machete in a public place and entered a guilty plea to assaulting a police officer, PC Jay Jackson.

The teenager caused Miss Yeo grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, wounded Ayub Hussein with the machete, causing him grievous bodily harm, and he caused actual bodily harm (ABH) to Niamh Esau.

At Lewes yesterday (Wednesday 6 November) Mr Sleigh-Johnson said that the boy and a friend had been aggressive towards a group of about eight students.

He followed them and, after the group separated, he starting chasing one of them with the meat cleaver but couldn’t catch him.

The boy punched Miss Esau, 18, to the head, Mr Sleigh-Johnson said, adding: “This caused her to fall to the ground and she was unconscious for a short period.”

He then attacked two 20-year-old students. He hit Miss Yeo’s head with the meat cleaver, causing her to fall to the ground, her head bleeding, and then struck Mr Hussein.

The defendant and his friend ran off and a passer-by tackled the boy and disarmed him.

Sussex Police said: “Two 17-year-old boys were arrested an hour after the incident and they were bailed with strict conditions pending further inquiries. There was no further action taken against one of the boys.”

Mr Sleigh-Johnson told the court that Miss Yeo’s head wound had to be glued, she had a brain scan and was treated by expert neurologists.

She made a statement last month, more than nine months after the attack, which was shared with the court.

She was still suffering as a result of her head wound and said: “I feel a surging pain where I was hit with the knife … and I think about the incident every single day.

“I didn’t leave the house for a week (afterwards) because I was afraid to go out.”

Judge Mark Van Der Zwart, who was shown a photograph of the wound after it had started to heal, said: “It’s a very nasty laceration to her scalp. It’s about an inch or two in length – three or four centimetres.”

Mr Sleigh-Johnson said that Mr Hussein was taken to hospital and needed stitches to a stab wound to his ribs which has scarred.

Brian Shaw, defending, said: “He understands the pain he has caused to others and he offers apologies to all of them.”

Mr Shaw said: “His life so far has been a catalogue of neglect, abuse and exploitation, including criminal exploitation. He exhibits symptoms of complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

“He has had a wretched and miserable life of dysfuncton and distress (but) he has the desire to change (and) he has the potential to redirect his life.”

The boy’s lawyer said that one of the pre-sentence reports said that the defendant presented a high risk of further harm to others and he was deemed likely to commit further offences.

Mr Shaw also cited a report which said that there was a fine line between a sentence that protected the public from future risk and one that offered the prospect of rehabilitation to an offender who was not yet 18.

One of the reports said that the boy had been having therapy, was working towards maths and English qualifications and had started a construction course.

But there were concerns linked to the boy turning 18 next year. He would be expected to move from the secure training centre where he was currently in custody to a young offender institution or prison.

Judge Van Der Zwart told the boy that if he had been a few years older, he would be facing a longer sentence – possibly nine years in prison.

With time served on remand, the youngster could be released on licence in about two years’ time to serve the rest of his seven-year sentence on licence in the community.

The judge said that one of the boy’s victims, the taxi driver, Mr Elhali, had picked him up from Portslade railway station almost two years ago along with a girl.

There was a dispute about how the fare would be paid and where the youth would be dropped off before the boy attacked the cabbie with a bottle.

He also threatened to stab him although it was not clear whether he actually had a knife on him.

At hospital, a scan found that the cabbie’s nose was broken, the judge said, and “he had to have staples to the back of his head and his ears glued”.

The judge added: “He felt that he might be killed that night and not see his wife and child again.”

Judge Van Der Zwart spoke about the other victims. He said: “The people you injured that night were a group of university students on a night out.

“You produced a meat cleaver that you had with you, ran towards them with it and started striking out with it.

“You hit Miss Yeo so hard that she remembered very little of what happened and was unconscious. She fell to the ground, with a lot of blood coming out of her head.

“You caused a wound to (Mr Hussein’s) torso and to his side.”

The judge said that he had received a letter from the defendant’s brother which said that the boy “has spent his life recovering from things he should have been protected from”.

The judge added: “No one learning of your life could fail to be moved by the trauma that you have suffered.”

But, he said, “nobody made you commit these offences.”

He said: “I am satisfied that only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified.

“You are still a young person and you have the capacity to change.”

Having deemed the boy dangerous, Judge Van Der Zwart said: “You like carrying weapons to hurt people. That makes you a big risk to other people.

“An extended sentence of detention is needed to protect people from you in the future.”

The judge passed a custodial sentence for each offence, with all to be served concurrently – at the same time – as the seven-year extended sentence.

He said that his starting point had been reduced to reflect the boy’s youth and his guilty pleas – and that he had borne in mind the principles of proportionality and totality, as required by the Sentencing Council guidelines.

Afterwards, Detective Constable James Botting spoke about the attack on the students, saying: “He was pursuing them with intent to harm them and cause serious injury in what was an unprovoked and mindless act.”