Jonty Bravery and Tate Modern attack: boy’s recovery takes a setback
The family of the French boy thrown from the Tate Modern balcony say his recovery has taken a “sad step backwards” after surgery in January. In a Tuesday update, they said the child, who was six when Jonty Bravery attacked him in August 2019, is still in a rehabilitation centre and unable to walk. They said the setback has left him frustrated, even as he continues to fight for a return to normal life.
Family says Jonty Bravery attack victim remains in rehabilitation
The child was seriously hurt in the 100-foot fall from the London attraction’s 10th-storey balcony seven years ago. His family said his rehabilitation is “proving longer and more difficult than expected” after the operation in January, and that he has only been allowed weekend leave for the past three weeks, using a wheelchair.
They described the experience as a painful reversal after previous progress. In their update, they said he is eager to walk again and resume life outside the rehabilitation centre, even if that means splitting time between treatment and school. They also said they have found a school “perfectly suited to his needs, ” which he was able to try before the operation.
Jonty Bravery case remains a grim backdrop
The attack left the child with life-changing injuries, including a bleed on the brain and multiple broken bones. Bravery, who was 17 at the time, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and received a life sentence with a minimum term of 15 years.
He was living in supported accommodation at the time of the attack but was allowed out unsupervised. In January, Bravery, now 24, was jailed for 16 weeks after being found guilty of assaulting two nurses at Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire, in 2024.
Inside the family’s latest update
The family call the boy “notre petit chevalier, ” meaning “our little knight, ” and said friends at his new school have stayed in touch during his absence. They said the children encourage him and are waiting for his return, which they described as a welcome he has not had at school in a long time.
“He is still hospitalised in a rehabilitation centre because he is still unable to walk, ” the family said. “He has only been able to have weekend leave for the past three weeks, in a wheelchair, which frustrates him greatly: it feels like a sad step backward. ”
They added that they do not yet know how much longer he will need to remain in hospital, but said their son “continues to fight and train” and that they will stay by his side. Jonty Bravery remains central to the case because the attack continues to shape the boy’s recovery, and the family’s latest message shows just how fragile that progress still is.
