A 16-year-old boy in Huddersfield who was filmed waterboarding a Syrian refugee, an incident that caused widespread outrage, has escaped with a mere caution.
The footage show the victim with his arm in a cast being headbutted, before his attacker shouts "I'll drown you", and then pours a bottle of water on the boy's face at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, as others watch and cheer. Well-wishers raised £150,000 to help the victim's family move home — his mother fled the country after receiving death threats.
However, the Crown Prosecution Service has announced there's "not sufficient evidence" to charge the culprit with "racially aggravated assault", and he will face no further action after agreeing to accept a caution for the less serious charge of common assault.
"A review of the case was undertaken to investigate whether there was a racially aggravated element to the offence. "A file was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service for their consideration. The CPS has concluded that there was not sufficient evidence to charge the suspect with a racially aggravated assault and he was given a caution for a section 39 assault. The victim and his family has been kept updated throughout the process and has been updated on the CPS's decision," a Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said.