Parents ordered to pay £1,500 for damage drunk sons did to model railway.

[HelenaDove]

metro.co.uk/2019/08/20/parents-ordered-pay-1500-damage-drunk-sons-market-deeping-model-railway-club-10598262/

Exhibition was worth £30,000

Good. If they cannot be named then they are minors. If they cannot pay then their folks can. Maybe now they'll keep a closer eye on their little under age drinkers.

Stamford is very prosperous. There's a good chance that £500 means nothing to the parents. I despair of our criminal justice system. At the very least they should do some form of community service. Or they should have a criminal record. As it is, they've got away with it

£500 each seems like such a small amount to pay for such a lot of damage. The distress their actions caused to the owners of those model railways was immense, yet they just have to pay £500 and it is all ok? It isn't ok, it isn't ok at all!

Not enough for the damage and distress they have caused.

I don't think that their sentence or the compensation is any where near reflective of their crime. "Good futures ahead" - I'm sorry to disagree with the judge but in this case it's my opinion that their futures (or those that would be impaired by a custodial sentence) SHOULD have been damaged. They destroyed people's lifes work .

They didn't just break it by moving it they deliberately trashed it and wrecked peoples hard work.
I agree the fine isn't punishment.
Community service every weekend for six months would tie them up for a while.

God what arseholes

So what was the punishment then? Did I miss something? Some of those models won’t be able to be recreated as they took so long to make. Mindless. And who has a pre exam bender?

Got to say if this was my dc I would be beyond furious.
Nasty, spiteful little sods.

At the very least they should do some form of community service. Or they should have a criminal record. As it is, they've got away with it

*Gone2far - They have got a criminal record and will be doing community service. They have very definitely not got away with it.

They pleaded guilty to criminal damage. They have been given 12 month referral orders. That is a community sentence and is the one most commonly used for offenders aged 10-17. The maximum length of a referral order is 12 months. It means they will have to agree and comply with a contract of rehabilitative and restorative elements. This may include reparation or restitution to the victims in addition to the compensation the parents have been ordered to pay.

There was a fourth boy involved who will be sentenced next month. It isn't clear why his sentencing has been delayed.

As the article mentions, over £100,000 has been raised to help pay for the damage. Unfortunately, no amount of money can compensate fully. A model that has been built from scratch by the modeller over 20+ years can never be fully replaced.

That should be @Gone2far in my post above!

I'm sorry to disagree with the judge but in this case it's my opinion that their futures (or those that would be impaired by a custodial sentence) SHOULD have been damaged

They have criminal records. Their futures have been damaged.

The sentence will have been reduced because they pleaded guilty.

I note that the chairman of the model railway club involved said it was, "right they [the teenagers] make the best use of their future. We have to allow them to make a second start, although I don't condone the damage, it was horrific."

The sentence will have been reduced because they pleaded guilty

Oh, that's all right then

The 12 month referral orders should be 12 months hard labor.

Oh, that's all right then

You may not like it but sentences are always reduced if the defendant pleads guilty. Without that discount it is likely that more defendants would plead not guilty, clogging up the courts with hopeless cases.

The 12 month referral orders should be 12 months hard labor.

We don't do hard labour any more - it doesn't work. The sentences the boys have received mean they will be doing community service.

Remove their phones and X boxes for a year for starters and make them go out each Sat and Sun for at least 4 hours picking up litter. Nasty little shits

There was one famous donor to the reparations fund:

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/20/rod-stewart-donates-10000-model-railway-club-vandalised-market-deeping