Man who tried to wash out foul-mouthed boy’s mouth with soap given conditional discharge

A man tried to wash a six-year-old boy’s mouth out with soap after being sworn at by the youngster who had tried to kick an old man’s walking stick away, a court heard. Ryan Joseph Birtwell was angered by the boy’s foul-mouthed outburst in a park near his home in Washington, Tyne and Wear. When the boy continued to swear, Birtwell, 23, went to a nearby shop and bought a three-bar pack of soap, before returning to the park, pinning the boy to the ground and shoving a bar of soap in his face. The boy later told his family of the incident, which happened at about 7.30pm on April 11, and they contacted police.

Prosecutor Glenda Beck told Sunderland Magistrates’ Court: “The injured party was playing in the park which is close to his home address. The defendant approached him and there was an exchange of words. The defendant went to a shop and returned with a bar of soap. He pinned the injured party down to the floor and pushed the bar of soap into his mouth.” Ms Beck added that a witness in the park at the time of the incident said Birtwell had been called a “gay boy” by the boy. The witness heard Birtwell say he was going to buy some soap and “wash his mouth out with it”. Jason Smith, mitigating, told magistrates: “Ryan is walking along the road minding his own business. He is a young man who is very affable.



“He sees the boy run across to an old gentleman with a stick and tries to kick the stick away. He remonstrates with him to which the boy, who the police, I have to say, accept that he is slightly out of control and perhaps not the best of young individuals, says to Ryan ‘f*ck off’. Ryan says to him to stop swearing and when he doesn’t he says back ‘stop swearing or I will wash your mouth with soap,’ something that used to happen in the good old days. He fully accepts in hindsight that that was not the best way to react. All Ryan was trying to do was teach the little boy some manners. Unfortunately, manners are in short supply nowadays.” Birtwell, of Washington, admitted assault and was given a 12-month conditional discharge. He was also ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

After the case, the boy’s mother said: “Things are not as bad as have been said. I admit that my son swore and he got wrong for that, but like I said to the police at the time, kids do that kind of thing. At the end of the day, he is a 23-year-old bloke who has assaulted a six-year-old. The sentence is a joke.” After the case, Peter Bradley, director of Kidscape, which tackles bullying and safeguarding issues in relation to children, said: “I think the main message that people should take from this case is that adults are adults and they should act appropriately when dealing with children. If a child is acting in the wrong manner then it has to be dealt with in the appropriate ways. In this instance, without doubt Ryan was wrong, but hopefully some support has been put in place so that this boy can learn from his actions too.”