Court is told boy (13) tortured for four hours

A BELFAST man cannot remember allegedly helping to subject a 13 year old schoolboy to a four hour ordeal during which he was …

A BELFAST man cannot remember allegedly helping to subject a 13 year old schoolboy to a four hour ordeal during which he was systematically tortured and given electric shocks, Belfast High Court has been told.

A lawyer for Mr Mark Whittley (19), in whose Egmount Gardens home the attack allegedly took place, said his client had been on a two week drinking binge and claimed he had only a "very vague" memory of what happened.

The attack a fortnight ago left the schoolboy with fractures of his fingers, thumb, wrist and elbow.

Mr Justice Girvan said he had "no hesitation" in refusing Mr Whittley bail as the attack "revealed a depth of depravity which is mind boggling". The court heard that the schoolboy's only alleged crime was taking a poster from the home of one of his attackers.

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Prosecuting counsel said the boy's mother was awakened by screams and in her kitchen found her son being kicked by two men who said they were taking him away to "give him a scare".

The boy was allegedly taken to Mr Whittley's home where for the next four hours he was systematically beaten and tortured and was given electric shocks from leads attached to a mobile phone battery.

Counsel said that, when questioned by police, Mr Whittley repeatedly expressed his remorse and was still "shocked at what he appears to have got himself involved in.