Teen Filmed Himself Torturing 'Vulnerable Man' While Holding Him Captive For 3 Days

A 16-year-old boy kept a vulnerable man with an acquired brain injury captive for three days and violently attacked him while filming the abuse, Dublin Children’s Court has heard.

District court president Judge Paul Daly on Wednesday said that the victim is in his 60s. The incident took place at the elderly man's home in Dublin, Ireland, from February 28 to March 1, 2020. The accused and his friend were known to go to the victim’s house, whom they had befriended.

The accused, who was 15 then, was arrested after his mother found the videos of abuse on his phone. The old man was punched and kicked to his head and body, 12 or 13 times, resulting in a bleed on his brain, the court was told.

The teenager, who appeared in court with his parents, offered to plead guilty to “assault causing harm and robbery charges.”

The videos of the assault were played in court and the judge described them as “stomach churning.” The judge also observed that the victim, described as being vulnerable as a result of a brain injury he suffered as a child, was “effectively kept as a prisoner for three days,” Irish Times reported.

In one of the video clips, the victim could be heard begging the boys to leave him. Another video showed the accused’s friend demanding money from the victim. The accused was then seen talking to the old man and hitting him as he sat on his chair or when he was knocked to the floor.

In another video, the friend of the accused can be seen telling him to stop assaulting the man. “You are going to kill him, his eyes are bleeding, you are a killer,” he says. But the teenager continues to abuse the man.

The teenager’s friend pleaded guilty to robbery Tuesday, and had sentencing adjourned.

The investigators found out that the boys befriended the victim over a period of 12 months before the assault. They also determined that the boys took around $60 from the victim while he was held captive. They had a pizza delivered to the victim’s house before going out to buy cannabis.

Defense solicitor Brian Keenan told the court that the teenager suffered from anxiety and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. He said the boy was not taking his prescribed medication at the time of the offences. He had been in the throes of significant cannabis addiction, Keenan said, according to Independent.ie.

The boy was placed in a residential treatment center for his drug addiction. His lawyer also told that the teenager had no excuse for his actions and was ashamed and apologetic.

The court has adjourned the sentencing of the teen boy pending a pre-sentence probation report.