The mother of a Newcastle boy with autism says she is devastated to learn a teenager who allegedly admitted to bashing her son has not been charged but only cautioned over the incident.
Police seized CCTV vision from Newcastle's harbourfront to investigate the February 17 incident.
Mother, Nicole Powell, told the ABC she got a text message from her 12-year-old son, Damien, saying he had been attacked by three teenagers.
"I got this text message from him that said, 'I have been bashed,'" Ms Powell said.
"And it just took me at least two or three minutes to get it through my head, like it was a dream."
She said Damien was left with black eyes and an injured lip.
Ms Powell said she was distressed to learn from police that action had only been taken against one of the teenagers, and it was just a caution.
"I don't know what to get from it, to be honest. We haven't been able to talk about it to him because he just gets too upset."
Police refused to comment on the case.
Ms Powell said her son was now learning boxing after the alleged attack and was still a "broken boy".
"Apparently, because they are underage, this is what happens," she said.
What is a caution?
Under the Young Offenders Act 1997, police may divert a young offender away from court by offering a warning, a caution or referring the matter to a youth justice conference.
That can happen if the young person has admitted the offence and consented to the matter being diverted and if the young person is entitled to diversion.
In 2018, the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) studied the effectiveness of cautions.
"During the 1990s, many jurisdictions introduced police cautions as an alternative to referral to court for juveniles committing comparatively minor offences," the BOCSAR report said.
The report noted cautions had been criticised by some.
"In recent years, however, elected officials have criticised police cautions as a 'soft option', and this [in some jurisdictions at least] has led to a decline in their use," the report said.
The Law Society of New South Wales said it supported measures to divert young offenders from the formal criminal justice system.
Ms Powell said she was worried a caution in her son's case sent a disturbing message about incidents involving vulnerable children like her son.
