Peterborough polygraph could help in theft case

Peterborough polygraph could help in theft case

A 16-year-old boy has been locked up after carrying out a rampage of “brutal” and “horrific attacks” on the streets of Peterborough.

The teenager will spend five years in a Young Offender’s Institution. He admitted to two robberies and a knife attack. The latter caused the victim grievous bodily harm.

The case

He committed a spree of crimes in just two and a half hours overnight between June 1 and 2. The attacks left three men in hospital. The offending began at about 10.50pm on June 1 when the boy and a group of others targeted a man walking. The man was along Westfield Road, Peterborough, listening to music through headphones.

The victim was knocked to the ground, stamped on, and kicked in the face. His headphones were stolen, and he handed over his phone after being threatened with a knife.

Forty minutes later the boy walked in the middle of the road along Willonholt, Raventhorpe in Peterborough. A man driving along the road stopped and got out but was stabbed in the neck and back.

The attacks continue

Then, at just before 1am on June 2, the boy approached a man who was walking along a footpath towards Middleton Primary School, South Bretton, Peterborough.

The victim was playing on his phone when the teenager ran towards him from behind and stabbed him in the lower ribs and arm. As he turned around, he was told to leave his phone on the ground. The victim did so, ran off and flagged down a vehicle to take him to the hospital.

Police were alerted and the boy was arrested with a victim’s phone on him. His accomplices have never been traced; police added.

Polygraph testing during interrogation

Police and the community have said that making the suspect take a polygraph test during interrogation could have helped speed up the process. Given the evidence the police had obtained, a polygraph test could have offered a clear line of questioning. The interrogation took a while due to the boy lying, and trying to deceive the police with his involvement.

The Outcome

An investigation found a mobile phone left at one of the scenes belonged to the boy and CCTV showed him in the vicinity of the crime scenes.

On Friday (December 10) at Peterborough Crown Court, he was sentenced to five years in a Young Offender’s Institution, after previously pleading guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and two counts of robbery.