On 4 April 2009, an abduction and

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

of two young boys by two young brothers in

Edlington Edlington is a town and civil parish in the City of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, lying to the south west of Doncaster and Warmsworth. It has a population of 8,276. The original parish town of Edlington is now known as ''Old Edlington ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

, England. An 11-year-old boy was found with critical head injuries at a ravine in a rural area of Edlington, while his nine-year-old nephew was found wandering nearby covered in blood. On Tuesday, 7 April, two brothers, aged 10 and 11, who had been arrested on Sunday, 5 April, were each initially charged with the

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...

and robbery of both of the injured boys. They appeared at

Sheffield Crown Court Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and ...

, where a hearing revealed the extent of their actions. They had led the two boys to an isolated wasteland where one was forced to strip naked and perform a sex act. A metal ring was used to strangle the other. The brothers collected stones and bricks which were thrown at the boys' heads. When alerted by the sound of passers-by, the suspects covered the two boys with a sheet, which they then set afire, inflicting

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

s on the victims. One brother had filmed part of the attack on his mobile phone, which was used as evidence in court. The two suspects pleaded guilty to causing

grievous bodily harm Grievous bodily harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a term used in English criminal law to describe the severest forms of battery. It refers to two offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. The ...

with intent, to robbing one of the boys of a mobile phone and the other of cash, to two counts of intentionally causing a child to engage in sexual activity, and to one additional charge of

actual bodily harm Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (often abbreviated to Assault OABH, AOABH or simply ABH) is a statutory offence of aggravated assault in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Hong Kong and th ...

relating to a previous incident involving another 11-year-old boy. A child protection expert, Eileen Vizard, who had been involved in the James Bulger case, told the sentencing judge that the younger brother was a "very high risk" to the community and was at risk of becoming "a seriously disturbed psychopathic offender" unless he was properly treated. The brothers were given indeterminate sentences on 23 January 2010. The judge in the case, Mr Justice Keith, ordered that under Section 39 of the

Children and Young Persons Act 1933 The Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (23 & 24 Geo.5 c.12) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It consolidated all existing child protection legislation for England and Wales i ...

their identities should not be disclosed. A request to appeal against the sentence was refused by the Criminal Division of the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

on 5 May 2010. In December 2016, the perpetrators were granted legal lifelong anonymity on the grounds that they would be "at serious risk of attack" if their identities became known. In August 2017, shortly after release, the younger of the brothers was returned to prison indefinitely after breaching the terms of his parole; he was found in possession of a machete.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edlington Attempted Attacks 2009 crimes in the United Kingdom Crime in South Yorkshire Robberies in England Torture in England 2009 in England 2010s in South Yorkshire April 2009 crimes Violence against men in the United Kingdom