On 15/03/2015 13:12, Peter Parry wrote:
On Sun, 15 Mar 2015 05:02:43 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Sunday, March 15, 2015 at 11:54:13 AM UTC, JNugent wrote:

Where to start with that statement...

How about starting with the tenet that a person under 10 is innocent until proved guilty,

As is everyone.

and then examine how a person under 10 can commit the criminal offence of cycling on the footway

Section 72 of the Highway Act 1835
Penalty on persons committing nuisances by riding on footpaths, &c.
If any person shall wilfully ride upon any footpath or causeway by
the side of any road made or set apart for the use or accommodation of
foot passengers; or shall wilfully lead or drive any horse, ass,
sheep, mule, swine, or cattle or carriage of any description, or any
truck or sledge, upon any such footpath or causeway; or shall tether
any horse, ass, mule, swine, or cattle, on any highway, so as to
suffer or permit the tethered animal to be thereon;. . . every person
so offending in any of the cases aforesaid shall for each and every
such offence forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding level 2 on the
standard scale, over and above the damages occasioned thereby.

The offence is absolute, anyone riding a bicycle on a footpath commits
a criminal act whether they be 5 or 50.

when parliament has made it quite clear that children under 10 are below the age of criminal responsibility.

You are conflating the crime and the perpetrator. The crime is riding
on the footpath.

Parliament has not decided a child under 10 cannot commit an offence,
only that they cannot be found responsible for doing so.

"Children and Young Persons Act 1933
50 Age of criminal responsibility.
It shall be conclusively presumed that no child under the age of ten
years can be guilty of any offence. "

It doesn't mean the crime goes away whether it be cycling on a
footpath or murder. It merely means the miscreant, if under 10,
cannot be brought to trial for the offence even when it is clear they
committed it.

from the gov.uk site:

.....This means that children under 10 can’t be arrested or charged with
a crime. There are other punishments that can be given to children under
10 who break the law.

Children under 10 cannot be charged with committing a criminal offence.
However, they can be given a:
Local Child Curfew
Child Safety Order
Children under 10 who break the law regularly can sometimes be taken
into care, or their parents could be held responsible.