British youngsters jailed for torturing boys

Two brothers who sadistically tortured a pair of innocent young boys were locked up for a minimum of five years yesterday.

The brothers, who were 10 and 11 at the time, were given an indeterminate sentence for public protection with a minimum term.

The ruling means the pair could be released at the end of their sentence if the Parole Board believes they are no longer a danger to the public - but if experts think they have not reformed they will remain locked up.

Sentencing the brothers the judge said they "got a real kick out of humiliating and hurting" the victims. The "appalling and terrible" attack on the nine-year-old and 11-year-old boys happened in Edlington, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, in April last year.

The case has provoked widespread criticism of agencies involved with the family in Doncaster and a report published yesterday following the sentencing revealed that the attack could have been prevented.

During a three-day sentencing exercise at Sheffield Crown Court, Mr Justice Keith heard how the brothers, now aged 11 and 12, lured their victims to a secluded spot and subjected them to 90 minutes of violence and sexual humiliation.

The victims, who are uncle and nephew, were strangled, hit with bricks, made to eat nettles, stripped and forced to sexually abuse each other.

The older boy was seriously injured when a piece of ceramic sink was dropped on his head.

Sentencing the brothers yesterday, Mr Justice Keith described the crimes as "truly exceptional" and said: "The fact is this was prolonged, sadistic violence for no reason other than that you got a real kick out of hurting and humiliating them."

He told the boys: "Neither of you need me to tell you... how appalling and terrible your treatment of (the two boys) was."

The judge said the attack amounted to torture and told the boys: "You harm people simply because you want to."

Quoting from pre-sentence reports about the brothers, Mr Justice Keith said: "You chose your victims because of their vulnerability, and you wanted to assert your dominance over them by (in the case of the older brother) the use of aggression, extreme violence and sexual degradation targeted to inflict maximum pain in order to gain a sense of power and control over their lives and (in the younger brother's case) a wish to control your victims by domination, degradation and inflicting pain for the purpose of your own emotional pleasure."

The judge was earlier told how the boys watched ultra-violent movies as part of a "toxic home life", which involved "routine aggression, violence and chaos".

A serious case review, conducted by the Doncaster Safeguarding Children Board, was published after yesterday's sentencing which highlighted failures of various agencies involved.

It was confirmed later that only one person had faced disciplinary action so far as a result of the case and Doncaster Council apologised to the victims and their families for their failings.

The families of the victims were present in court throughout the three-day hearing and listened to the details of the crimes against the two boys.

The judge told the court how the parents of the victims had been left with a "strong sense of guilt" that they could have done more to protect their sons and said the relationship between the two boys had been "seriously affected" by the attack.

An application was made by the victims' parents and a newspaper to allow the brothers to be identified but Mr Justice Keith ruled that reporting restrictions would not be lifted.

The families later issued a statement which was read by Sgt Richard Vernon outside court - the officer who helped the most seriously injured victim at the scene.

The officer said it was the most shocking thing he had dealt with in 22 years of policing.

The family statement said the events of April last year "rocked our lives".

The brothers last year admitted causing their victims grievous bodily harm with intent.

They also pleaded guilty to robbing one of the boys of a mobile phone and the other of cash and two counts of intentionally causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

The pair also admitted causing another 11-year-old actual bodily harm a week before the young boys were attacked.

Mr Justice Keith imposed concurrent sentences on all the charges they admitted and each was placed on the sex offenders register for a period of three-and-a-half years.