A Melbourne mum whose son was left with permanent brain damage after a botched kidnapping says the system has failed her after one of the teenage offenders was spared jail.
Benjamin, 15, was ambushed by a group of teens while walking home with friends from school in Glen Huntly in September last year.
The teens had attacked and dragged him into their stolen car before he was thrown from the vehicle at 70km/h.
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While Benjamin suffered life-altering injuries in the attack, one of the offenders – a 15-year-old boy – was spared jail without conviction.
Benjamin’s devastated mother Wannisa Srichan penned a letter to the court saying she felt “powerless to help my son”.
“I feel like I’ve failed Ben. It’s my job to ask for justice for him and to ask for the community to be kept safe,” she wrote.
The teenager pleaded guilty to armed robbery, theft and possessing a controlled weapon last month after his more serious charges were dropped in a plea deal with prosecutors.
The teen was sentenced over 49 charges in total for crimes dating back to April last year.
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The court heard that the offences range from home invasions to serious acts of violence, involving machetes and box cutters.
On 10 occasions the teen was out on bail.
Meanwhile, the boy who is accused of dragging Benjamin into the vehicle is still before court.
A girl who was driving the vehicle is awaiting sentencing.
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