A TEENAGER who broke a girl’s back after he crashed his motorcycle into her has been spared jail.
Dean Stepp, right, was “showing off” on his scrambler when he struck the 13-year-old in a field near Clanfield.
The girl – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – had been invited to the location by the 19-year-old biker and his friends on May 1 last year.
After repeatedly riding around a pond, Stepp struck the girl, throwing her in the air.
She suffered a broken vetebra, four broken ribs and a major wound to her left leg.
After six weeks in hospital and six skin grafts the girl cannot walk without crutches and is registered disabled.
Stepp, of Mill Lane, Clanfield, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Monday after admitting causing bodily harm by wanton and furious driving.
He was charged with the 151-year-old offence because the incident did not take place on a public highway.
John Reilly, defending, said his client had severe learning difficulties.
Judge Michael Gledhill said he would have had “no hesitation” in jailing Stepp but for his age and learning difficulties.
He passed a 12-month jail term, suspended for two years, with 200 hours’ unpaid work.
Stepp was also banned from driving for five years.
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