The boy who didn’t hit back

By Jan Corbett

No one in the Marmonts' Pakuranga household imagined 15-year-old Stuart's Saturday-morning trip to a friend's house would end in an accident and emergency clinic.

Stuart called by the girl's house around 10 o'clock, to return a CD he had borrowed some months before. She had asked for it back. He took another female friend with him, because he was nervous about going to the house on his own. But everything inside was fine, he says.

It was when Stuart and his friend were about to get in the car to leave that the trouble started.

Two young Pakeha guys who were also visiting, one 18 and the other 15, followed him out to the car and

started making accusations which Stuart says were "rubbish."

"It was nothing to do with anything," he says. "I disagreed with them."

That's when one of them landed two blows to the back of Stuart's head. As he swung round, the older boy landed another two punches.

Stuart, a black-belt in tae kwon do, resisted fighting back and jumped into the car. As he did, the 15-year-old kicked in the vehicle's side, causing several hundred dollars of damage.

Stuart's father called the police. His mother was "proud of Stuart, that he didn't retaliate in any way. He kept his wits about him and had the sense to get out of the situation."

Because one of the assailants was only 15, his charge was handled in the Youth Court. That meant a family group conference of which Stuart's mother, Heather, is particularly critical. She felt the boy's apology was insincere and although he was ordered to pay more than $300 for the damage to the car, the Marmonts have never seen the money.

"I suppose I'm angry," says Stuart, "and annoyed at the hassle over the car. It makes you feel less safe but I'm not too worried because I know I can handle myself."