Modern slavery order granted against man accused of coercing boy to deliver drugs and stab teen
A Telford teenager was coerced into delivering drugs and even stabbing another boy by a county lines dealer who took him on day trips and bought him gifts, a court has heard.
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The 16-year-old, who stabbed another teenager in Shifnal last year, had been "groomed" by an older man who plied him with expensive clothes, a tracksuit and a phone to ensnare him in a county lines drug dealing network, Telford Magistrates Court heard on Monday.
The boy, who cannot be named because of his age, was convicted earlier this year of wounding the young victim in Shifnal.
He claimed in court that he had been coerced into carrying out the attack by a drug dealer who bought him gifts and took him on trips to places like Birmingham, Rhyl and Manchester.
Details of the alleged grooming were heard this week in one of the first cases of its kind, after West Mercia Police applied for a Slavery and Trafficking Risk Order against the man.
Police sought a court order against the man, who is from Telford and in his 20s, accused of the grooming, to restrict his activities.
The parents of the boy, who was 15 when he carried out the attack in Shifnal in May last year, raised concerns after his behaviour suddenly changed last spring, prosecutor Pamela Brooker told the court on Monday.
"A large number of calls were being made between the two individuals between March and April of 2023.
