A 14-year-old boy arrested following a crime spree in Christchurch has admitted dozens of charges laid against him in the youth court.
The teenager faces a total of 53 charges including resisting police, unlawfully taking vehicles, assault, theft and aggravated robbery. He has automatic name suppression due to his age.
He did not deny 48 of those charges in an appearance before the Christchurch Youth Court today.
More than 30 of those allegations relate to vehicles, including multiple allegations of unlawfully taking or using cars and driving while unlicensed.
A further 16 charges related to theft, dishonesty, burglary or robbery, including the alleged use of a credit or bank card to gain a pecuniary advantage, and stealing of items worth less than $500.
The remainder of the allegations involved violence including resisting police, which he denies, and assault with intent to injure.
He was one of four young people arrested by police in October in what Christchurch Metro Commander Lane Todd described as a “significant run of offending by a small group of young people”.
At the time, Todd described it as an “inevitable end” to a story that started “long before any offence was committed”.
"It's very rare that youth offenders come 'out of the blue'. We encourage communities to reach out to Police if they're seeing concerning behaviour amongst their young people,” he said in October.
“Tackling this issue takes a multi-agency approach, with prevention at the heart of any solution, along with alternative resolutions for offenders in an effort to break a cycle of offending.”
The teen was remanded in custody and will reappear in two weeks.
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