PECULIAR, Mo. — A 16-year-old boy in Peculiar has his mouth wired shut. His mother says it’s the result of an unprovoked attack. She believes the boy who hit him, got off way too easy.
Bryson Bray was out bowling with friends in late September when he noticed another teen watching him.
“This kid was in there, like staring him down, he got uneasy feeling and looked at his friends and said, ‘Let’s leave,'” explained Robin Bray, who has to speak for her son.
They left and went to Belton Memorial Park. A few minutes later, so did the teen, who started cussing at him and then popped him in the jaw.
“It broke in three places and the jaw joint was broke too, the surgeon said that he’s gonna have permanent damage for the rest of his life.” said Robin Bray.
She’s frustrated with the juvenile court system because the boy who hit her son has been in trouble before.
“He has seven other offenses for 2013 alone, this year alone.” said Bray.
Her claim is backed up by the police report filed in Bryson’s attack. It shows previous incidents of disorderly conduct, disturbances, weapons violations and destruction of property. Robin said the other teen never should have had a chance to hurt her son and the sentence he did get makes her angrier.
“He got a year probation, 20 hours of community service and has to write him an apology letter, which we still haven’t received, it’s been a month.” said Robin Bray
She is now trying to get local and state lawmakers to take a look at the juvenile system and see if something can be done about repeat offenders or find out why, in her son’s case, the 16-year-old wasn’t certified as an adult.
“I go to bed thinking about it and I wake up thinking about, ‘Okay, who am I going to call e-mail? Who’s going to listen to me?’ I mean, something has to be done, something has to change.” explained Bray.