Thomas Courtney and Lincoln Hudson were just 16 and 15 when they carried out a sustained and unprovoked attack on a man and woman near Sunderland bus station in the early hours of June 15 2023.
The victims walked past a group of teenagers sitting in a doorway and the woman remarked that they had a nice cool place to sit on a hot night. Some of the group took offence, saying "don't you realise we're homeless and you're making a joke about us".
The woman was then attacked by Courtney and two females, with Courtney stealing keys and a corkscrew from her. She was left with a black eye, facial bruising, and other injuries, and was treated by a nurse at hospital.
Man kicked and punched unconscious
The woman's friend was subjected to a sustained attack by Hudson and Courtney. He was repeatedly kicked and punched, including to the head after he fell to the ground, and lost consciousness. Courtney stole his mobile phone during the attack, and Hudson later sent a Snapchat video of the man's bloodied face to a friend.
The man was taken to hospital by ambulance with bruising to his face and left eye, tenderness to his neck and chest, pain and swelling to his elbow, tenderness to his abdomen, and a small pooling of blood between his skull and brain. He remained in hospital for more than 10 days due to medical complications.
Victims describe lasting impact
In a victim impact statement, the man said: "I'm extremely traumatised by this and I've been in and out of hospital since with various appointments. I now have depression as a result of this attack. I tried a couple of times to end my life since this happened. I've struggled to move on with my life since."
He said he was unable to work for an extended period and "lost my job which I loved dearly". He also said he was in a neck brace for 16 weeks and has lasting damage to the back of his legs.
The woman said in her statement: "I'm very jumpy and nervous. It was an unprovoked attack on us and we were unable to defend ourselves against so many of them. There was no reason for this to have happened."
Sentencing
Courtney, 19, of Ashbourne Road, Stockton, who has nine previous convictions, pleaded guilty to attempting to cause GBH with intent, assault and two counts of theft. Hudson, 18, of Bedburn Road, Hamsterley, Bishop Auckland, who has three previous convictions, pleaded guilty to attempted GBH with intent.
Recorder Richard Herrmann, who said footage of the "prolonged and sustained" attack was "appalling", sentenced both to two years suspended for two years, with 250 hours unpaid work and programme requirements. Two females previously received out-of-court disposals for their roles.
Courtney, who now works for Stockton Council's marketing department, wanted to apologise to the victims, his barrister said. He had run away from a care home at the time, but has turned his life around and is now a father. Hudson's barrister said he was ashamed of his actions, had been using substances and had undiagnosed ADHD, and wants to join the Royal Navy.
