A 13-year-old autistic boy was allegedly brutally bashed outside Casuarina Square

An autistic teenager suffered a ‘terrifying’ and brutal alleged bashing outside a northern suburbs shopping centre. Now the 13-year-old wants to leave the Territory.

AN AUTISTIC teenager’s alleged brutal bashing outside a northern suburbs shopping centre, where he was meeting mates for dumplings, has left him and his family “completely devastated”.

The 13-year-old had just left Casuarina Square shopping centre with two friends when he was allegedly assaulted with a baseball bat by a group of three boys about 2pm on August 20.

His dad said it was the first time his son had caught the bus by himself after he and wife decided to encourage their son to be more independent.

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“He has been doing chores to earn a bit of pocket money,” the dad said.

“He had gone to the shops to get dumplings with his mates. When they were heading back to the bus this happened.

“It is just scary to think this can happen in broad daylight.”

The Moil dad was on a work trip when he received a phone call from his wife informing him of the brutal alleged attack.

“I was shattered and started having all those bad thoughts of fear, anger, and revenge,” he said.

“You obviously shove all of that to the side and just focus on if he is okay.

“My wife still isn’t sleeping. She stays up each night watching him, because she is afraid of what will happen if she looks away.”

Police said the three boys – a 10-year-old and two 11-year-olds – were remanded in custody and charged with aggravated robbery, assault with intent to steal and aggravated assault.

The dad said the alleged attack had taken a physical and mental toll on his son and put his progress “back a couple of years at least”.

“He is not only covered in bruises but his anxiety has gone through the roof,” he said.

“With his autism we had already been struggling to get him to school.

“Now he wants to move out of the Territory.

“He is terrified.”

Police are investigating whether the same 10-year-old boy involved in the alleged attack was behind a weekend crime spree, which included the alleged assault and robbery of two 12-year-olds at the Casuarina Interchange bus station.

Northern Watch Commander Meacham King said “it is very lucky the assault victims were not seriously harmed”.

“This sort of behaviour and the level of violence being used to steal is unusual,” he said.

“We don’t get that level of crime that often and especially at that young age.”

Originally published as A 13-year-old autistic boy was allegedly brutally bashed outside Casuarina Square