Jonty Bravery jailed for life for throwing six-year-old boy off Tate Modern balcony

A teenager who smiled and laughed after throwing a six-year-old boy off the Tate Modern viewing platform has been jailed for life and warned it is likely he will never be free again.

Jonty Bravery, 18, claimed to be “on top of the world” after carrying out the horrifying attack, scooping up the young boy who was skipping in front of his parents and launching him head-first over the side of the tenth-floor balcony.

The boy, from France, survived the fall but suffered devastating injuries, including a bleed on the brain and spinal damage, and now needs round-the-clock care.

Bravery, who had been allowed out unsupervised despite a spiralling history of violence, “sniggered” as he was surrounded angry Tate visitors and the boy’s hysterical parents, shrugging as he said: “Yes, I am mad”.

The teenager, who is autistic, later revealed he had been plotting the attack for weeks in a bid to get himself locked up and hoped the attack would “be on the news”.

Sentencing Bravery this morning, Mrs Justice McGowan imposed a life sentence with a minimum term of 15 years, but warned him: “You may never be released”.

She said the crime was “at the worst” level, almost killing the boy and leaving him with devastating injuries that will affect the rest of his life.

“You thought out how best to kill someone, you considered different methods of killing and the likely sentences, and you chose a small child because of his vulnerability”, she said.

The judge said Bravery “appeared to have revelled in the notoriety”, and agreed with doctors’ assessment that it may never be safe for him to leave prison.

“What you did on the day of this offence and the way you behaved before and after the offence prove you are and will remain a grave danger to the public”, she added.

Bravery, who appeared at his sentencing hearing via videolink from Broadmoor secure hospital, will now be detained in prison after the judge ruled that she saw “little prospect of rehabilitation”.

The attack happened on the tenth floor viewing platform of the Tate Modern on August 4 last year, as the boy was visiting the attraction with his parents on the fourth day of their holiday to London.

Bravery was then 17 and living in supported accommodation in Northolt, under the care of Hammersmith and Fulham Council as a “looked-after child”.

His barrister, Philippa McAtasney QC, said it “beggars belief” that the teenager was allowed out alone despite being under police investigation for a string of assaults and having a history of violence.

Bravery admitted he headed into central London that day with a plan in mind, hoping to throw a stranger from the top of The Shard but he could not afford the ticket price.

Undeterred he went to the Tate Modern’s 360 degree viewing platform, stalking possible child victims for 15 minutes before finally settling on the six-year-old boy who had “skipped ahead” of his parents.

“Ahead of him and facing (the boy) was the defendant, who scooped him up and - without any hesitation - carried him straight to the railings and threw him over”, said prosecutor Deanna Heer.

“(Bravery) could be seen to be smiling, he had his arms raised”, she said. “At one point he appeared to shrug and laugh.”

The boy landed on the fifth floor roof of the gallery, while Bravery was surrounded by angry tourists and the youngster’s parents, proudly declaring: “yes, I am mad”.

Following his arrest Bravery told police he wanted to be locked up, saying he believed he was not getting proper treatment for his mental health problems.

“He said he had to prove a point to every idiot who said he didn’t have mental health problems, that he shouldn’t be in the community”, said the prosecutor.

Bravery, who asked “am I a murderer?” and said he hoped the boy would die so that his sentence would longer, laughed when shown video of the attack again.

He admitted contemplating shooting and drowning a young girl, researched sulphuric acid and an attack on the Tube, before deciding to throw a stranger from a tall building.

The boy’s parents said in an impact statement their life is “in ruins” since the attack, with the boy facing years of recovery, round-the-clock care, and learning how to speak and eat again.

“How can one explain to a child that someone deliberately tried to kill him?”, they said yesterday. “How can he now ever trust mankind?”

Doctors told the court yesterday that Bravery has signs of psychopathy, and Ms McAtasney urged the judge to see his comments after the attack as symptoms of his mental health difficulties.

Bravery admitted attempted murder.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council has ordered a serious case review in the wake of the attack.

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