A teenager who threw a 6-year-old boy from the 10th floor balcony of a museum in a sickening attack has been jailed for at least 15 years.
A mentally ill 18-year-old had "a big smile on his" face after throwing the boy off the viewing platform at London's TateModern art gallery, a court has heard.
Jonty Bravery of Ealing in the city's west will spend at least 15 years in custody for attempted murder over the sickening attack – and may never be released.
The French child, who was not identified, survived the 30m fall but suffered catastrophic injuries, including a bleed on the brain.
He remains in a wheelchair and needs around-the-clock care.
She said he turned to the boy's father and said: "Yes, I am mad."
"The fear he [the victim] must have experienced and the horror his parents felt are beyond imagination," said Central Criminal Court Judge Maura McGowan.
"You had intended to kill someone that day. You almost killed that 6-year-old boy."
McGowan acknowledged expert evidence that Bravery presents "a grave and immediate risk to the public".
Jonty Bravery was 17 when he threw a six-year-old boy from the 10th-floor balcony of Tate Modern in London. Photo / Supplied
"You will spend the greater part – if not all – of your life detained. You may never be released," she said.
Bravery watched the 20-minute hearing via video link from Broadmoor Hospital. He sat impassively and occasionally placed his hands behind his head.
The family has since returned to France and did not attend Friday's hearing.
"Words cannot express the horror and fear his actions have brought up on us and our son who now, six months on, is wondering why he's in hospital," the boy's parents said in a statement.
"How can he not see in every stranger a potential 'villain' who could cause him immense pain and suffering?"
The outdoor viewing area and a rooftop bar sit atop the Tate Modern, which is Britain's national gallery of international modern art.
