The family of a teenager beaten up outside school gates said they were furious over not being told his attacker was in court.

Yesterday, Denai Burns, 18, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to a 15-year-old Saltus student. His family and friends were there to show support and now the victim’s family are angered they were not present as well.

The mother of the student also claimed that Crown counsel never met with her son to find out his version of the events and no one called to let them know that the trial was taking place five days after the attack.

After Burns pleaded guilty, Magistrates’ Court heard he repeatedly punched and kicked the victim until the student lost consciousness. The attack took place on January 24 during the school lunch break near the BASA swimming pool.

Crown counsel Nicole Smith told the court that Burns, of Fisherman’s Hill, Hamilton, had two previous convictions for cannabis possession and affray in September 2006 and was currently completing a two-year probation order and community service for the offences.

Defence lawyer Shade Subair told the court her client was provoked by text messages sent by the Saltus student — something the victim’s family vehemently deny.

She also argued that court should be lenient because her client was young, working towards his General Education Diploma and complying with the previous court orders.

Burns said: “As far as the case I can’t really make any excuses for myself.

“I should have used better judgement.

“I need another chance to show I’m not another black male caught up in the system.”

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner said that the court system had already tried to help Burns and yet he had committed another offence.

Despite his misgivings, he said he would have to comply with the spirit of the law and handed down a suspended sentence, which means if Burns breaks another law in the following two years he will be automatically imprisoned for six months.

The mother of the victim contacted The Royal Gazette yesterday and said the Bermuda judicial system did not take into account the victim’s rights.

Her son, she said, never got to counter the allegation that he provoked Burns. The court also failed to hear how the ordeal has affected her son.

She said: “We often hear that Bermuda suffers from people not wanting to get involved in criminal investigations, but the system does not facilitate nor support the public’s involvement.

“If Government is serious about addressing the increasing violence among Bermuda’s young adult community, they must revise the current legislation and judicial options to work for the community’s benefit.”

She also questioned the sentence saying that Burns had already been given chances: “The perpetrator is an adult male whose prior offences already received warnings, probation, and community service by the court.

“When he later attacked a student during school hours on school grounds, he received a suspended sentence because the court does not want to send him to Westgate because of his age.

“Why should the court give this individual yet another ‘second chance’? He did not give his victim a second chance as he continued to kick him after he was unconscious.

“We feel that our child has been victimised twice, once by the perpetrator and once by the courts system.”