Boys, 15, and 16, sentenced for kidnapping children as they stole dad's car
Two teenagers have been sentenced after they were found guilty of abducting two young children when they stole a car with them inside.
The boys had stolen a car from outside a property in Beaumont Road, in Birmingham, in February – with the young children, aged two and four years old, in the back seat.
Both boys, aged 15 and 16 years old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were sentenced to youth rehabilitation orders for two years.
They must remain at their home addresses between 8pm and 6am daily and wear electronic monitors.
At an earlier hearing at Birmingham Youth Court, the boys pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking – but denied child abduction. However, they were later found guilty of the second charge following a trial.
The court heard that on February 20, the children's father arrived at an address in Beaumont Road to drop off some food for a friend. He left his children in the back seat of his car, with the ignition and engine still running.
As he approached the address, he saw two youths get into the front seats of his car, with his children still inside. He shouted at them to alert them that his children were in the car – but they drove off and he immediately called the police.
Police began a search for the vehicle and it was eventually located travelling at more than the speed limit and on the wrong side of the carriageway.
The car finally came to a halt when it collided with two other vehicles at the junction of Bristol Road and Wellington Road, and officers arrested the youths – who claimed they didn't know there were children in the car until police arrested them.
Owen Beale, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The youth defendants have received sentences for their crime. Thankfully, their reckless behaviour did not end tragically, and the children were recovered safely and returned to their parents.
“This was a very traumatic and distressing experience for the parents and children involved and while they will never forget it, we very much hope that they can now move on with their lives.”
