Teen who threw boy (6) off 100ft art gallery balcony may never be let out of jail
A MENTALLY ill and violent teenager who threw a six-yearold boy from the Tate Modern viewing gantry when he was allowed out unsupervised has been told he “may never be released” after being jailed for at least 15 years for attempted murder.
Jonty Bravery, now 18, was said to have had “a big smile on his face” when he was challenged by horrified onlookers — including the victim’s distraught parents — moments after hurling the young tourist over railings.
The victim survived the 100ft (30m) fall but suffered life-changing injuries including a bleed on the brain and multiple broken bones and remains in a wheelchair. He will require round-the-clock care until at least 2022.
In a victim impact statement taken in February the boy’s parents described Bravery’s actions as “unspeakable”.
Sentencing Bravery, of Ealing in west London, Old Bailey Judge Mrs Justice Mcgowan said: “The fear he (the victim) must have experienced and the horror his parents felt are beyond imagination.
“You had intended to kill someone that day. You almost killed that six-year-old boy.”
She said Bravery’s autism spectrum disorder (ASD) did not explain the attack, and acknowledged expert evidence he presents “a grave and immediate risk to the public”.
The judge added: “You will spend the greater part — if not all — of your life detained... you may never be released.”
Well-built Bravery, who was wearing a white T-shirt and dark shorts, sat impassively with his legs crossed and occasionally placed his hands behind his head as he watched the 20-minute hearing via video-link from Broadmoor Hospital.
The court heard Bravery had been in supported accommodation under the care of Hammersmith and Fulham Social Services, with one-to-one supervision, and had a history of lashing out at staff.
Despite this he was allowed to leave home unsupervised for up to four hours at a time.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer said there was evidence Bravery had long harboured his intent to seriously hurt or kill someone, with the teenager’s admissions apparently caught on a “shocking, prophetic” secret recording made by carers. The alarm was not raised with Bravery’s parents.
It was on Sunday, August 4, 2019 that Bravery left his accommodation and travelled to the Tate Modern in central London, spending at least 15 minutes stalking potential victims before “scooping” a six-year-old boy up and over the railings as the youngster skipped slightly ahead of his family.
Bravery admitted attempted murder last December.
Defence counsel Philippa Mcatasney QC said her client was immature, and said it “beggars belief ” that he was deemed suitable to be allowed out unsupervised.