A long-time magistrate gasped in shock and looked away in disgust after being shown gruesome photos of injuries suffered by the man who was allegedly stabbed and kicked by a group of nine teenagers, including students from some of Sydney’s most exclusive schools.
A 15-year-old – who cannot be identified – is the latest teenager so far charged over the ‘sadistic’ attack on a 36-year-old cyclist at Pyrmont last Friday.
He faced Surry Hills Children’s Court on Wednesday where he was refused bail, even after his mother pledged to quit her job to ensure her son remain in home detention.
Magistrate Jeffrey Hogg gasped in shock and turned away after photos of the injuries suffered by the man were tendered in court.
The court heard the youngster had been involved in a social media group chat which some of the youths allegedly used to gloat about their attack hours after the crime.
A drug-addicted 15-year-old (above) who was allegedly part of a gang that stabbed and kicked a man leaving him blinded and in a coma, has had his actions slammed as ‘vile’ by a magistrate
The father of the 15-year-old leaves Surry Hills Children’s Court after his son was refused bail. The boy’s mother offered to quit her job to ensure the boy remained in home detention, but a magistrate said the allegations were so severe he could not release him
So far nine teenagers have been arrested over the disturbing attack in which a man was allegedly knocked off his bike and set upon by a gang, before being stomped on and stabbed in the eye
Magistrate Hogg said it was concerning that someone so young needed to undergo drug and alcohol counselling, but was more worried about the lack of remorse that the group allegedly displayed in the hours after.
‘What occurred on the social media platform after the event is distinctly counter indicative of remorse,’ Magistrate Hogg said.
‘It’s a vile and horrific crime. The injuries are extraordinarily severe and life changing.
‘There is a strong prosecution case and it is a matter, should the offenses be proved, that a custodial sentence is in my estimation inevitable.’
In submissions to the court, police prosecutor Kai Jiang described the alleged attack as ‘sadistic’.
The teenager’s lawyer Veronica Love had earlier told the court that he had strong ties to the community and had suffered mental health issues.
Ms Love added that with the likelihood the matters will be heard in adult courts due to the serious nature of the allegations, it was likely the teenager would remained in juvenile detention until at least next year if refused bail.
‘I ask Your Honour to consider the length of time this young person is likely to spend in custody considering the seriousness and the likelihood that will not be resolved in this court,’ she said.
‘The young person is Year 10 at High School and he has in the past had some mental health issues.
‘This young person has never come before a court before and has never had any court alternatives. He has no history of violence.’
Eight teenagers have been arrested over a shocking stabbing attack on a 36-year-old man at Pyrmont, in Sydney, about 11pm on Friday night. The alleged assault by a group of youths (Pictured is a youth charged over the stabbing who cannot be identified) left the man in a coma and blind in one eye
The shocking allegations were revealed as two teenagers faced Surry Hills Children’s Court on Tuesday over the assault, with police prosecutor Peter Mort calling it a ‘sickening’ attack and ‘violence of the highest order’, and flagging that they would likely be dealt with in an adult court
The youths are due to reappear before Surry Hills Children’s Court (pictured) on September 29
Ms Love also told the court it could not yet be known whether the teenager knew a member of his group was carrying a knife when they allegedly attacked the man.
But the youngster was remanded in custody to reappear in court on September 29.
A day earlier the same court heard allegations that the attack had potentially come in response to one girl, who was among the group, claiming the man had raped her.
The group, who ranged in age from 15 to 18, had hired an Airbnb in the city for Friday night.
It is understood that at one point a man rode his bike past the apartment leading to a girl allegedly being asked: ‘Is that the one who raped you?’ .
She allegedly replied ‘yeah that’s the one’ and a group rushed downstairs to confront him.
The man was knocked off his hire bike and bashed, before a teenager allegedly ran in and ‘sliced’ his face seven times – before deliberately plunging the knife into his eye.
It is believed the attack may have been a case of mistaken identity, with the police calling him an ‘innocent victim’.
The court also heard details about the series of messages sent in the moments after the alleged crime.
In the texts, one of the 15-year-old boys allegedly brags to his friend in horrific detail about how the man was left blinded after being stabbed in the eye.
The young man allegedly claimed seeing it unfold in front of him made him laugh.
It is understood the alleged attack may have been sparked by two girls who were among the group claiming they had been ‘raped’ or ‘groped’ by the victim, but NSW Police have said the man was an ‘innocent victim’
Police will rely on witness accounts, CCTV and mobile phone footage, and text messages sent by the alleged offenders as part of their case
A 15-year-old allegedly sent these shocking text messages to a mate in the hours after he and his gang of mates allegedly bashed and stabbed their victim, leaving him blind in one eye and in a coma. He allegedly detailed the incident in depth and claimed that seeing the incident unfold in front of him was ‘so funny’
‘I stomped on him and gutted his head he got knocked out after I bottled him on the head,’ the youngster allegedly wrote in one text message.
‘I put the shattered bottle in his stomach and then jetted (a co-accused) slit his face like 15 times and stabbed him in the eye.’
It is believed the alleged attacker was then asked by his friend if he knew the man.
‘Nah mate. Ahahahaha he was in the wrong place at the wrong time,’ he allegedly replied.
‘He (a co-accused) stuck it in his eye. Put it in deeper and swivelled the knife around. So funny.’
Some other texts allegedly sent by a teenager are so graphic Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to publish them.
A magistrate called them the worst thing she has read in all her time working in law.
NSW Police have so far arrested and charged nine youths over the horrific attack.
So far only two have been granted bail, with the rest remanded in custody until later this year.
In refusing to grant one of them bail on Tuesday, Magistrate Mary Ryan described the allegations as among the worst things she had overseen.
‘Bail must be refused and with good reason, that I will detail so the community know why I am refusing bail for a 15-year-old with no previous criminal history,’ she said.
Magistrate Mary Ryan told Surry Hills Children’s Court that in all her years working in the legal system she ‘has never read anything so abhorrent’ as the details of the alleged attack (Police are pictured at the scene of the attack)
The alleged attackers and some friends had rented an Airbnb in the city for the night and CCTV footage from the apartment will be used in evidence.
‘The facts before me and the actions taken by these young persons are abhorrent. It is reading that offends the normal notions of what a civil society is.
‘There is an indication of his thoughts in the form of text messages (he allegedly sent) that are so concerning, that it is just something I’ve not read as facts from an adult who has carried out an offence – let alone a young 15-year-old.
‘As an adult, as a mother, as a grandmother, it is very upsetting that this young person has allegedly behaved in this manner and reported back to his friends about his behaviour.’
The alleged messages, combined with CCTV and mobile phone footage, and the accounts of eyewitnesses, are set to form a major part of the prosecution case.
Some of the youngsters were arrested at their school this week.
Police prosecutor Peter Mort detailed allegations that as other youths fled, a 15-year-old remained behind stomping on the victim’s head while next to him a 16-year-old allegedly plunged the knife into him.
‘We have evidence from a mobile phone, from a witness from a balcony nearby that we allege captures the incident,’ Mr Mort said.
The 15-year-old boy was refused bail over the alleged attack, while his 16-year-old co-accused was allowed to go home under strict conditions
‘We have direct evidence from a witness, being what they saw and heard. They were in the proximity and they heard the words: ‘”They’re going to stab him”.
‘We allege this young person is seen stomping on the head of the victim while he is on the ground. The victim was unable to protect himself.
‘We will allege a number of people from that group fled while he continued to stomp on the victim, and another co-accused joined.
‘A co-offender (allegedly) slashed the face of this male whilst he was on the ground.’
The victim remains in a coma in a Sydney hospital and is expected to lose his eye as a result of the attack.