Boy wins right to compensation
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Your support makes all the difference.The mother of a young boy who was hit 11 times with a car jack by another three-year-old boy today said she has won the right to compensation.
Jay Jones, of Wirral, Merseyside, needed stitches to his head after he was attacked while the boys were alone in a car two years ago.
His mother Renai Williams said the Tribunals Service ruled in her favour despite the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) twice refusing to pay out as it disputed whether such a young child could be guilty of a crime of violence.
Ms Williams told the BBC: "This has been a long and hard-fought process. We have been knocked back twice by the CICA because in my opinion they didn't take my son's case seriously.
"My son was hit 11 times on his head and face with a car jack, his attacker kept on lashing out even though Jay was screaming out in pain and covered in blood.
"It was a vicious attack with such force that his attacker, who was also only three himself, managed to crack the car windscreen."
Michelle Armstrong, of Kirwans Solicitors which represented the family, added: "The CICA rejected the case twice, questioning whether the actions of a three-year-old perpetrator could constitute a 'crime of violence'.
"We argued that the age of the perpetrator was irrelevant when claiming compensation from the CICA. And it was on this point that we won."
The amount of compensation to be paid in the wake of the attack, which took place in December 2007, is yet to be decided.
A CICA spokesman told the BBC it did not comment on individual cases, but said it made "payments to victims of violent crime as a gesture of public sympathy."
He added: "To ensure that the application of the scheme is as robust as possible there are safeguards built in.
"All cases are decided on their own merits and if an applicant does not think their case was assessed fairly they may apply to have it reviewed, which can then go to tribunal if there is a further dispute."
The age of criminal responsibility in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 10.
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