The family of a boy thrown from the 10th floor of London’s Tate Modern art gallery has said he is practising a gentle form of judo and adapted archery as his condition slowly improves.
The French boy was six when he was badly injured in an attack by Jonty Bravery at the tourist attraction in August 2019.
At the ensuing trial a psychiatrist said that Bravery, a teenager at the time of the attack, had a mixed personality disorder. He had been in supported accommodation under the care of social services with one-to-one supervision but despite a history of violent conduct, was allowed to leave the home unsupervised for up to four hours at a time. He intended to select and kill someone, the court was told.
Bravery was convicted of attempted murder in 2020 and jailed for 15 years.
His victim, on holiday with his parents, survived a 100ft (30-metre) fall but suffered life-changing injuries including a bleed on the brain and broken bones.
Posting on a GoFundMe page that has raised nearly €400,000 (£354,000) to support his recovery, his family said: “Since September, we have returned to Paris several times to consult specialists because we have to monitor the development of our son’s back, shoulder and hip, given his growth.
“We will now have to do this check every six months, to make sure that he does not need a corset again. Similarly, some new operations may unfortunately become necessary.
“In prevention, specialists recommend appropriate physical activity. This is why we have registered our son for equine therapy and the swimming pool with his specialised educator. And the latter also accompanies him, since the end of October, to judo. She does it very gently and does not let go of an inch on the tatami, of course.
“From time to time, we also take him for adapted archery. Our son has always loved sports, he is delighted to do all this.”
Last July, the boy’s family said they took him to an adapted holiday home in the Massif Central mountain range in southern France to train him to walk with a cane. Explaining that the boy was also improving with his breathing, they wrote: “We have also found a new speech therapist, and thanks to her, our little knight has made considerable progress in swallowing and breathing.
“He’s able to blow out candles again, he hardly makes any more wrong turns when he drinks liquids, and he’s starting to keep the rhythm of the songs better. He is also pursuing orthoptics and his sight is improving further, as is his memory thanks to cognitive remediation sessions with his neuropsychologist.
“He remembers more and more things he did or was told during the day.”
• This article was amended on 16 January 2023 to summarise the psychiatric assessment and behavioural history of Jonty Bravery heard by the court at Bravery’s trial.
