THE victim of an acid attack in Waterford last year is set to challenge the decision not to charge the perpetrators.
Tega Agberhiere suffered life-changing injuries after he and two friends were horrifically assaulted back in April.
The teenager suffered burns to his face, arms and legs during the unprovoked attack and for a time afterwards, he was unable to see.
The two perpetrators of the attack were held but escaped without criminal charges due to their age.
Instead they were admitted to the Juvenile Diversion Programme where they both received a caution back in December.
This week however, through his mother Christie Agberhiere, Tega was granted permission to bring judicial review proceedings seeking an order to quash the decision.
Following the decision to caution the attackers - who cannot be named to their age - the families of the three victims hit out the judicial system for letting them down.
"I feel very, very pained in my heart," Tega's mother Christie said following the ruling.
"I have been let down, my son has been let down. The whole of my family has been let down.
"I just feel ashamed that a country like this there is no equality."
The mother of another victim said: "This was grievous bodily harm and for these boys to do this and get a slap on the wrist."
One of the boy's fathers meanwhile told RTE that said his son had "third-degree burns on his back, burnt through his jacket, his jumper" and would "probably have scarring for life".
"That’s just physically, never mind the emotional part of all this," he added.
Prior to the attack, Tega was a promising young footballer, having appeared for Ireland's U17 side on a number of occasions.
Last month, he made a return to the pitch with his local side Waterford FC, playing his first match for over nine months.
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