Three Florida teens who brutally beat a 13-year-old boy on a school bus finally appeared in juvenile court after the shocking video went viral on the internet.
The trio – Lloyd Khemradj, Julian McKnight and Joshua Reddin – were charged with aggravated battery on Tuesday for a beating that resulted in the 13-year-old’s arm being broken. In addition, Reddin is also charged with unarmed robbery for stealing $5 from the victim.
But Judge Raymond Gross reminded the teens of something very important. If they had been in adult court, the charges would have constituted a second-degree felony.
“That may not mean anything to you, but that’s a way of telling you this is an extremely serious charge,” the judge said.
As of yet, none of the teens have spoken out about the attack on the school bus. But one of the boy’s fathers, Julian McKnight, said his 15-year-old son Julian was sorry and has also suffered in the aftermath of the attack.
“All I can say is he’s had his consequences already, you know?” McKnight said. “We’re sorry what happened to the victim, but that’s just the way it is. My son ain’t never been no bad person, he just got mixed [up] with bad people, that’s all … He’s sorry.”
Prosecutors will be seeking nine months of court supervision for the suspects, as well as no contact with the victim and random drug testing. They also want to play the video before a judge prior to any sentence is imposed.
And in a matter of weeks the victim, who was attacked after he told officials at their dropout prevention school that one of the boys had tried to sell him marijuana, may be tapped to testify before the court.
We’ll keep you updated on the latest.
SOURCE: CNN | Youtube
