The father of a defenceless teenager viciously beaten by three fellow CedarBridge Academy students has voiced his anger after prosecutors said they were prepared to let the trio walk away from a prison sentence.Keanu Wilson, 17, Tijuan Swan, 16, and Kenneth Wade, 17, all pleaded guilty yesterday in Magistrates’ Court to causing grievous bodily harm to Raymond Crofton Jr in an assault on November 6.Swan also pleaded guilty to wilfully damaging an electronic monitoring device belonging to Bermuda Security Group on May 22 this year.A fourth teen, 17-year-old Tishon Gordon, maintained his not guilty plea, while a fifth defendant was charged in Juvenile Court.Raymond Crofton Jr was struck with a cane, and kicked repeatedly while he lay on the floor during the beating, which saw his face reduced to a bloody and bruised mess, and left him with his jaw broken in four places. The teen required emergency surgery to have metal plates inserted in to his face, and will need months of rehab to recover from the brutal attack.Despite that, prosecutor Garrett Byrne said yesterday that the Department of Public Prosecutions were seeking strong community sentences rather than terms of imprisonment for Wilson, Swan, and Wade.“We have to think about what kind of message we’re sending, because if not, this is going to continue,” said the victim’s father, Raymond Crofton Sr. “We have to send a clear, clear message not just to these people, but to those that are coming. We should say this is not acceptable.”Mr Crofton Sr told The Royal Gazette that prosecutors should seek a period of incarceration for what the offenders did to his son. Since the attack, he said his son still requires further surgery, and has had difficulty sleeping.“He’s going to be in recovery for a long time,” he said. “He’s gone through a lot. It’s not easy for him.“He’s got another appointment later this month for surgery for them to remove the plates. This will be his second surgery, and there’s still going to be therapy after that.”However, he said he was pleased three of the defendants had admitted the offence, saying: “It’s a blessing.“I have been waiting, and waiting, to hear that this is over. I saw everything that was recorded on film, and I’m glad that it would seem they have seen sense.”The attack, which took place during the school’s lunch break, and was described by prosecutor Susan Mulligan as a “brutal beating”, was recorded on video.The victim was in a courtyard near the school cafeteria when he was struck with a cane. He attempted to escape his attackers, but he was struck in the face and then tripped.He was then repeatedly kicked in the face and body while on the ground.The teenager’s jaw was fractured in four places during the attack, and he required emergency surgery.CedarBridge principal Kalmar Richards said the students involved in the attack had been removed from the school and placed in alternative programmes.All four defendants initially denied the offence and were released on $5,000 bail with a like surety and required to wear electronic monitoring device.Swan was later remanded into custody after being charged with damaging his device.His lawyer, Mark Daniels, said Swan had repeatedly run into difficulties with the device, and a family member was attempting to fix a tear when the device was set off.Following the guilty pleas yesterday, all four defendants were subsequently released on bail, with Wilson, Swan and Wade all set to return to court for sentencing next month.