Teen Charged: Attempted Couch Fire
In Plea Court this morning [Sept.23], a 16-year-old was charged with willfully causing damage. The details of the charge were that on 19th September 2011, he had tried to set fire to a couch that was within a building.
Because the charge is indictable, and can only be tried in the Supreme Court before a judge and jury, the juvenile, represented by Duty Counsel Leopold Mills, was not required to enter a plea.
The DPP Prosecutor asked for him to be remanded in custody. However, with his address given as Oleander Cottage, it was clear to Senior Magistrate Archie Warner that the sixteen year-old was already under a Family Court ordered Care Order which had placed him in the care of the Director of Child and Family Services.
The DPP Prosecutor and representative staff from Child and Family Services said that because of the alleged increased risk, they would no longer keep him at Oleander Cottage and wanted him removed from there.
With his address confirmed, Magistrate Warner questioned the validity and appropriateness of the DPP’s request, and the desire of the (acting) Director of Child and Family Services to remove him from that facility and place him elsewhere.
The Magistrate pointed out that the Family Court order would have placed him in the care of the Director of C&FS and that this order could not be varied without coming back to Family Court. He went on to say that the sixteen year-old could not simply be evicted because he now allegedly posed a danger, and that the Court order still had to be followed.
C&FS staff, present in court, said that arrangements were underway to place the young man in an institution overseas, but that this still required time.
Magistrate Warner told C&FS staff that: “He must remain in your care until the Courts can order differently.”
On the charge as laid, the Magistrate then further remanded the sixteen year-old into the care of the Director of C&FS and ordered that the next appearance on the matter should be next Friday, 30th September.
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“Oleander Cottage”.
The answer is right there.
Irony………
wut does that mean terry?
Tink about it Bdagirl…….Thats right, your too young. Just keep typing…..
It means take one of those many oleander tree branches (a thick short but long enough)clean the leaves off, wet it just a touch and wip him when he gets out of the shower. LOL
@ Terry n classic, thats a bad idea. oleander is poisonous-hydrogen cyanide. break skin n u be going up for more than just child abouse. muhahahaaa. real talk, maube try a diff strap. lol some kids need it…sometime
Actually, you can take the child aside, talk to them.
Oh damn…sorry, I appoligise……thats means commitment. Shame on me……..you fool terry………….
Key words. Talk to, not talk at or shout at. if more people did that at an early age, alot of this madness wouldnt b happening.
unfortunately, alot of parents dnt even know whats right or wrong. bad up brings perpetuated through the generations n this is the results
Were on the same page ‘just sayin’. Karma comming your way.
I was watching this show on TV this morning “Scared Stiff” where troubled youth are taken to jail/prison – they wore white jump suits with signs hanging around their necks showing what they had been jailed for (i.e. weed/gang affiliation/thief/graffiti). The sherriff’s and the mortician directed their tour as it was and they were confronted by selected prisoner’s – up close and front – they were scared stiff with the tear’s rolling. After having a cold bologne sandwich, drink and chips, having a heart to heart talk with one of the sherriff’s, they were allowed a one minute telephone conversation with their MOTHERS – both Mom’s and sons cried. Upon their release, the offenders said they wanted to change their lives our of perhaps six boys – one returned to smoking weed all day, skipping school, disrespecting his Mom, stealing money for his habit and could care less. The other boys went on to bigger and better things with one boy showing his gratitude to the Sherriff who shared HER life story by baking her brownies as he had promised.
This is what we need in Bermuda – I think it is a great idea….
You jokin?? These clowns here will compare notes and laugh their a**es off!! This kid need more then that.He needs some serious help!!
yes indeed……… I am sure it has made this boy feel even more neglected & angry because not even THE BERMUDA SYSTEMS wants to keep him! He definitely needs SERIOUS help. There are some serious issues going on with him. I hope and pray that he gets the help that is needed.
@ Ella….more then you know. He was doing so well….enough said. I just hope things work out for him!
Unfortunately many of our criminals in the court today have had similar back grounds.
I think us as Bermudians like to stick our heads in the sand and like to think this sort of thing does not happen here.
I am a big believer that many of our social problems stem from the fact that there are more and more people having children that they are not MENTALLY, PHYSICALLY or FINANCIALLY ready to raise. Although I accepted that some of the attributes come once you become a parent, i will say that they come in you are mentally prepared……
This leaves many children feeling lost acting out and trying to find ways to “make it” or be accepted into a “family”.
I don’t know the case with this young man particularly, so before i get jumped on I am making a general observation on our society.
It is not fair for a child to be forced to choose the wrong path because it is the “ONLY OPTION”, it is not fair to society to have increasing number of young people with no hope for the future unless it includes crime.
We need to look deep inside ourselves, our families and out society to fix these problems.
@ In General this not the case with this young man. But you have some excellent points.
There are hundreds of young men just like this kid in Bermuda and there are no resources to help them..they get pushed through school and many cannot read ,write or express themselves and the inadequate social services network is incapable of helping. this child may not have positive influences in his life and everyone else gave up on him….there should be no jokes when it comes to this as it is one of if not the biggest problem facing this island….pray for him dont joke about him….
One thing they are going to do to supposedly help our troubled teens is put them on some drug to help (ie.anti-depressant)- do you feel this is correct or do you feel these children should be encouraged to talk or write about their feelings and/or situation?
I think its ridculous!! This young man was put into the system to get help so that he wouldn’t end up where he is today. They say he was fine up to this incident and if that is the case then why were they so quick to say that they no longer wanted him in their care. I feel for this young man and his mother, a mother who reached out to our “government” for help with her young black man now has to deal with the fact that he has become another statistic. I think it’s ridiculous! Something hs to be done!