10 Year Old Boy Convicted in Beating Homeless Man

A ten year old child has been officially convicted today, May 10, 2007, in the beating of a homeless man. The man, John D'Amico, who lives in Daytona Beach Florida, is a 58 year old Army veteran. He has had several extensive reconstructive surgeries on his face (especially a badly damaged eye) after being beaten in March by two10 year olds and their 17 year old friend, all males.

One of the ten year old boys, was found guilty on Thursday of aggravated battery and is now being held in a juvenile detention center possibly until he is 21 years old. The other ten year old boy pleaded not-guilty and faces up to a year in a juvenile detention center. The seventeen year old, Jeremy Woods, has been officially charged with aggravated battery and could serve up to fifteen years in prison. He has also pleaded not guilty.

The story is that Woods, the seventeen year old young adult, persuaded the two younger boys to join in with him and attack the homeless man. This incident only highlights the crime that has been taking place in the United States against the homeless.

Apparently the boys were strolling through their neighborhood, saw the homeless man and allegedly started throwing rocks at him. After throwing rocks at D'Amico, Woods then proceeded to punch him in the face sending D'Amico over a concrete wall. At that time one of the ten year old boys (their names are not yet being released) used a piece of broken off concrete cinderblock to bash D'Amico in the head, severely damaging the man's eye. There seems to be absolutely no motive for the boys' appalling behavior.

I don't think I even need to state why this story is so unbelievably heartbreaking. The fact that ten year old children can even think to do something this vile is very scary and a true reflection of the society that we have become. Crimes against the homeless seems to be rising at a rapid rate, but the fact that small children are now taking it into their own hands to perform such vicious acts is truly disturbing. It also shows the power of persuasion, as the seventeen year old Woods was quite obviously the ringleader of the fiasco. Hopefully the fact that this story has been made public, as well as the punishments the children have received being made public, will dissuade future acts of this nature.