Thugs poured boiling water on boy’s feet
APAIR of teenage thugs held a hunting knife to a boy’s throat before pouring boiling water mixed with shower gel on his feet, a court heard.
Liam Sheridan, 18, from Great Harwood and another boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also tied up the victim’s feet and wrists and ‘waterboarded’ him during the two days of terror.
The victim, 17, suffered ‘burnt and blistered feet’ following the ordeal at an assisted living facility for teenagers in Greater Manchester.
The pair were sentenced at Manchester Crown Court yesterday.
David Bentley, prosecuting, said: “During the first incident, the two
defendants went into [the victim’s] room, then grabbed him.
“Both the two defendants got him on the bed. They used PVC and tape to tie up his legs.
“They tried to tape up his mouth, but it didn’t stick. They dragged him to the corridor. Members of staff saw them punching him. The two defendants left then returned carrying a kettle. [The boy who cannot be named] threw it over him.
“It was cold. The [victim] didn’t realise that. They poured it over him. [The victim] would have been terrified.
“In the moment prior to that, he would have feared he would have been seriously burnt.
“A member of staff told the defendants to go to their rooms. They saw what was happening as bullying.”
The next evening, the boys started banging on the victim’s door.
The defendant who cannot be named ‘made threats’ towards him. The pair then forced their way into his room.
The victim was hit, then pushed onto the bed, before Sheridan slapped him in the face.
“He pulled a hunting knife. He pressed it to his throat,” Mr Bentley told the court.
His accomplice then told Sheridan to ‘put sugar or salt into boiling water to make the liquid sticky’, Mr Bentley added.
“Sheridan put shower gel in the water, mixed it in, then held [the victim] down while [his accomplice] poured hot water onto his feet,” he said.
Sheridan then put a shirt over the victim’s mouth while his accomplice poured water over his face ‘to waterboard him’, the court heard.
For a short time the victim couldn’t breathe, Mr Bentley said.
When police visited the facility, they discovered the boy, who cannot be named, had stolen the victim’s bed.
“The victim was taken to hospital with burnt and blistered feet,” Mr Bentley said.
Sheridan, now of Windsor Avenue, Great Harwood, and his accomplice pleaded guilty to assault by beating and assault by actual bodily harm at a previous hearing.
Sheridan was sentenced to 11 months, suspended for a year. He was ordered to undertake 125 hours of unpaid work and 30 days of rehabilitation.
His co-defendant was sentenced to a six-month detention and training order.
Judge Timothy Smith said: “You abused [the victim] in what can only be described as an appalling manner.”