Judge condemns acid attacks as he jails youth, 17

ACID attacks are becoming a “serious and growing problem”, a judge has warned, as he jailed a 17-year-old youth for carrying out a spate of “despicable” assaults against moped riders.

Derryck John, from Croydon, south London, targeted six riders in less than 90 minutes as he tried to steal their vehicles in the north and east of the capital on July 13 last year.

John, who appeared at Wood Green Crown Court via video link, carried out “grave crimes”, said Judge Noel Lucas QC as he jailed him for 10-and-a-half years.

John sprayed victims in the face with a noxious liquid, leaving one man with a 30 per cent loss of sight in one eye.

“From my own knowledge... such offences have risen sharply in the last 12 months,” the judge said. “This is the second major corrosive fluid case I have had to deal with in the past three months. It is clear to me that the carrying and use of corrosive liquids is rapidly becoming a serious and growing problem in London.”

The judge told John that if he were sentencing him as an adult, after a trial and conviction, the sentence would have been 22 years’ imprisonment.

Last month, John pleaded guilty to six counts of throwing a corrosive liquid with intent to “disable, burn, maim, disfigure or cause grievous bodily harm”, two counts of robbery and four of attempted robbery.