Yahoo News Teen who committed outraging public decency during incident with horse in Northumberland field sentenced
A teenage boy who penetrated a horse has been handed no immediate punishment.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was spotted by a local resident stroking a female horse before lifting up its tail and penetrating it with his arm.
The youth claimed he had gone into the field in Blyth, Northumberland, to stroke the horses and denied lifting up the animal's tail and putting his hand inside it.
He denied outraging public decency and went on trial at North Tyneside Youth Court in North Shields last month. Magistrates deliberated for just under one hour before convicting him of the charge.
The teenager was accompanied by his mother as he returned to the Youth Court to be sentenced for the crime on Wednesday morning. Magistrates heard how he still denied carrying out the act.
Chair of the Bench, James Parker, sentenced him to a 12-month conditional discharge. This means he will not be sentenced for the offence unless he commits another crime in the next 12 months.
The court previously heard how a woman, who lives nearby and has a horse in the field, had been using binoculars to look out of her window and check on the horses on May 29 last year.
She said she became concerned after noticing a male lifting up the tails of the horses and ran outside to stop him. However he spotted her and escaped through the fence.
The woman's partner said her actions drew his attention and he looked through the binoculars at the field. He said he saw the teenager holding one of the tails of a horse, which did not belong to them, with his right hand and was penetrating it with his left hand.
The man said he got into his vehicle, rang the police and stopped the teenager from riding away on his bike.
He said he stopped him by pulling his vehicle in front of him, grabbed him by his rucksack and took him back to the scene. He said the teenager appeared to have a mark on his left arm and there was a smell which he had never smelt before.
The court heard how police arrived at the scene and put the teenager in the back of their van while they spoke to the couple. They then took him home and explained the accusation to his parents.
A Northumbria Police officer, who attended the scene, told the trial that the teenager had something on his arm. He said it could have been faeces, but he wasn't willing to touch or smell it for health and safety reasons. He also admitted that it could have been mud, as he did not inspect it.
Gurjot Kaur, prosecuting, told the sentencing hearing, that the owner of the horse said, in a victim impact statement, that she's owned horses since he was 13 and she's never worried about the safety of them.
However the incident has made her feel anxious and she was now worried about them and whether someone is going to mistreat them. She said she's shocked that people can behave in that way and treat an animal like that.
Glenn Reardon, defending, said the defendant's position in the trial was that the witness was simply mistaken when he was looking through the binoculars from over 500 yards away and he "saw something that didn't occur".
Mr Reardon told magistrates: "This is the most positive pre-sentence report I have read." He said that the teenager seems to be doing "very well" in all aspects of his life and he has been assessed as a low risk.
His solicitor added: "It's still a matter that he denies. He's never troubled the courts before and, from that report, he's unlikely to again."
Mr Parker asked the teenager, who had no previous convictions, what the incident had taught him. He responded: "Not to go in a farmer's field again. I have just been scared to be honest with you."
Mr Parker told him: "Going into a farmer's field, it could have been dangerous for you as the behaviour of the horse could have been very different. It could have kicked out at you.
"And so obviously I acknowledge that you still deny the offence - that you were merely stroking the animal - although you have been found guilty after trial and you have to realise the impact that this has had on not just yourself but your whole family.
"I would echo what your solicitor has said about the report. The report is excellent."
Mr Parker told the teenager that he had no previous convictions, no record of involvement with the police and he had not committed anymore offences since the incident occurred last year.
He said the youth justice service assessed him as being a very low risk and that there is very little they can offer in terms of rehabilitative work. He said they also noted that he had got good family support.
Mr Parker said it was for these reasons that magistrates were able to impose a conditional discharge. They also ordered him to pay £310 court costs and a £20 surcharge.
