A TERRIFIED schoolboy is living in fear after robbers snatched his mobile phone and used it take his picture, warning him not to tell.
A court heard the 15-year-old was mugged by an Oldbury man and an accomplice – who has not been caught – as he walked along a canal towpath.
Siobhan Collings, prosecuting, said Shaun Hodgkins and a second man threatened the youngster that he would be “in serious trouble” if he told the police.
She said the teenager now "constantly lived in fear" as a result of his ordeal, suffered flashbacks and had problems sleeping.
Hodgkins, a 25-year-old demolition worker, of Wallis House, admitted robbery and was jailed for 21 months at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
Judge Martin Walsh ruled only immediate custody was appropriate for the crime.
He said it was accepted Hodgkins had not played the dominant role in the robbery but it was serious offending because of the psychological damage suffered by their victim.
"This was a vulnerable victim at a vulnerable location who had the misfortune to come across you and the other man," he added.
Adrian Stephens, defending, said no injury had been caused to the boy by Hodgkins, who accepted his presence at the scene had been "intimidating".
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