Judge sentences teens in bus beating to ‘indefinite’ probation

LARGO, Fla. — Tampa Bay Times reports that Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Raymond Gross followed recommendations from the Department of Juvenile Justice and sentenced all three 15-year-olds who beat a 13-year-old on a school bus in Gulfport to "indefinite probation."

The probation includes several conditions, such as electronic monitoring, community service and random urine screenings. Additionally, if any of the three students are assigned to the same school as the victim, they must transfer to a different school.

Last month, the Department of Juvenile Justice recommended nine months of probation for two of the youths. By last week, the department's recommendations had become stricter, based on input from the department’s secretary. The judge told the teens that the prosecution could have tried them as adults, the paper reports.

Many have said that the probation sentence is too lenient, according to the paper. As SBF previously reported, the beating that prompted the case sparked significant media controversy over whether the bus driver should have intervened.

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