Punched, stripped and humiliated: Horror of teenager's attack revealed

Samuel Young, aged 19, took pictures of the victims on his phone after they were terrorised by Martin Harris and Mark Wright at a flat in Compton Road, Wolverhampton.

Young, of Laburnum Grove, Bentley, Walsall, was sent to a Young Offenders Institute for four months for common assault.

At Wolverhampton Crown Court this week, Miss Rebecca Wade, prosecuting, said the victims had visited the flat, where the defendant lived at the time in April last year, and were told they could stay there by Harris and Wright.

However, the pair then proceeded to carry out a 'serious assault' on the two victims before hitting one in the head and ordering both men to take all their clothes off.

At this point, Young arrived and said he 'did not like snitches' in relation to a previous crime he had been involved in.

He then took photos on his phone as Wright and Harris, who have both since been jailed for GBH and assault, performed sex acts on their victims. Young then sent the photos to Wright.

During questioning, Young initially said he acted in fear that he would be subjected to violence by Wright and Harris, though he subsequently distanced himself from the claim.

Miss Wade said the defendant had previous convictions for theft and battery.

She added: "Clearly the victims were vulnerable."

Lisa Hancox, mitigating, called on Judge John Warner to impose a suspended sentence on Young, adding that he had stayed out of trouble since 2010 and was working with the charity Catch 22, which helps people in tough situations to turn their lives around.

She added: "This offence did not involve Mr Young as being the ringleader or the main defendant."

She also highlighted the fact that Young had helped to bandage the arm of a victim in the bathroom following the attack.

Judge Warner said: "It was a dreadful thing that you did even though there were people who did far worse things than you."