Mother's fury as boy, 14, who stabbed her daughter in frenzied attack because she wouldn't go out with him is NOT sent to jail

Published: 06:24 EDT, 8 October 2026 | Updated: 06:53 EDT, 8 October 2026 The mother whose daughter was stabbed by a teenage boy after she refused to date him has said it was a 'disgrace' that he avoided jail. After the 14-year-old boy was rejected, he followed her to a shop and waited for her outside armed with a blade in his pocket before he launched the attack in Cirencester, Gloucestershire on the morning of March 15 this year. The traumatic incident has left the schoolgirl with nightmares and too scared to go about her daily life alone, it was said in court. Her mother - who has not been named - said she feels 'failed' and 'incredibly let down' by the court's decision.She told the BBC: 'If you're big enough to commit an adult crime, you should have the punishment, regardless of your age. It was not a petty crime - it wasn't petty theft.'I feel angry. We're incredibly let down; we feel like everyone's failed us.'It's disgusting. It's absolutely disgraceful after watching [footage of the attack] that someone can say the guidelines are first offence and the injuries weren't life-threatening'.She added: 'I want some justice for my child - I want some protection.' In harrowing CCTV footage, the boy, 14, can be seen calmly walking up to his victim in the convenience store before stabbing her multiple times Bristol Crown Court heard that the girl sustained cuts to her neck, hands and face, and bruising to her back during the terrifying knife attackThe boy was not jailed and instead sentenced to a three-year restraining order and a one-year referral order after admitting to wounding with intent, inflicting grievous bodily harm and possession of a bladed article in a public place.The boy, from Wiltshire, had become obsessed with the girl, whom he went to school with, Bristol Crown Court heard last month. But when she rejected his advances in December last year he began using fake social media accounts to send her messages.In harrowing CCTV footage, he can be seen calmly walking up to his victim in the convenience store before stabbing her multiple times.He then chases her around the shop before she runs out and he continues to go after her.The quick-thinking shopkeeper attempted to grab the boy and pull him away from her, but he was also stabbed in the process.The schoolgirl sustained cuts to her neck, hands and face, and bruising to her back.He was arrested near the shop soon after the attack and found with a knife in his pocket. The quick-thinking shopkeeper attempted to grab the boy and pull him away from her, but he was also stabbed in the processIn a statement read to the court, the girl said: 'I'm scared and nervous anywhere that I go.'Even if someone puts their hand up next to me I flinch as I don't know what they are about to do to me. I know this is as a result of the incident, as I wasn't like this before.'I was in so much shock after it happened. I didn't leave the house for a couple of days. I never thought something like this would ever happen to me, or anyone I know at all.'I've been having nightmares since; I relive the incident, but in these dreams it happens in different places. I sleep in the dark but when I wake, I constantly feel like there is a presence in the room. I can't stop thinking about it.'This is going to affect my ability to trust people. I'm now getting dropped off to work because I don't want to be outside on my own. I shouldn't have to feel like this as a teenager in my own area.'Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Superintendent Ian Fletcher, Head of Serious and Complex Investigations, said: 'This was a frenzied attack that took place in broad daylight.'The victim was stabbed multiple times with a knife and has been very, very lucky to get away with only minor injuries. We could easily have been looking at a fatal incident if that knife had pierced her anywhere else.'My hope now is that the victim is able to move on from these deeply traumatic events and start to rebuild her life again.'