Shop worker given 15-day night arrest for assaulting minor after display damage

The Corts Court has sentenced a shop worker on Avinguda Príncep Benlloch for a minor criminal offence of intentional bodily harm, imposing a conditional 15-day night arrest sentence for chasing, detaining and assaulting a minor who had damaged the store’s display.

The incident occurred when two truant minors entered the shop’s toy section and began passing a ball between them. A worker reprimanded them and showed them out. As they ran off, one kicked a glass display, knocking over several items, while the other shouted discriminatory insults at the employee.

The worker pursued the youths, caught one by his hood and held him until police arrived. The worker said he grabbed the minor to bring him back to the shop and did not recall striking him; the minor testified that the man had grabbed him by the neck and struck the back of his head three times. The boy’s mother filed a police complaint after noticing a red mark on his neck.

After deliberation, the judges found that an assault on the minor had occurred, even if the worker’s stated intent was to detain him until police arrived, and noted the youth had been causing damage in the shop. Because the defendant had a prior conviction for a similar incident, the court imposed a conditional sentence of 15 days’ night arrest.

The court also ordered the defendant to pay €33.75 in civil compensation to the CASS.