A Florida teenager who confessed to police to throwing an elderly woman into a swimming pool when she tried to break up a party at an apartment complex, will spend the next three weeks at his home under surveillance.
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Broward Sheriff’s officials said in a news release that the 16-year-old boy turned himself in on Monday, telling investigators that he “messed up,” and has to “own up to it.” He was with his mother and a lawyer.
The teen was charged with battery on a person 65 or older.
A judge handed down 21 days of juvenile detention for the boy on Tuesday, which he will serve at home. He will also have to wear an electronic ankle monitor.
The penalty stems from video that was shared on social media over the weekend that showed the teen throwing the elderly woman into a pool against her will.
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Nancy James, 68, told deputies that 200 young people showed up at an apartment complex near Fort Lauderdale, Saturday evening. When she tried to speak to them, a young man picked her up, dragged her to the pool and tossed her in.
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“Several unit owners called us, the sheriff’s office was called. One of the ladies on the board of directors went over there to break up the situation, and the sheriff’s department took quite a while to get there,” property manager Glen Sugarman told WTVJ.
The video captured partygoers chanting, “Throw her in,” prior to the teen picking James up by the legs and dropping her on the ground, before lifting her again and tossing her in the pool.
A neighbour later identified the teen through surveillance footage.
Despite being dropped, James reportedly only suffered a bruise to the bottom of her leg.
A police report described James as “very frightened and upset,” and was left “drenched in water from her shoulders down,” following the incident.
— With files from the Associated Press
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