A 19-year-old man who beat a school girl who refused to give him her phone during a robbery will spend a few more weeks in jail considering his actions before being sentenced.

Warren Witter, from Sackville Road, Vineyard Town, pleaded guilty to robbery with violence when the matter was mentioned in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court.

Allegations read in court are that on January 3, 2008, the 17-year-old complainant was standing at a bus stop along South Camp Road, when the accused rode up to her on a bicycle and demanded her Nokia cellphone. When she did not comply, the accused started to punch her in her face several times.

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Some people who saw what happened held on to Witter, however he continued to beat the complainant. A plain clothes police officer who was passing by and saw what happened stopped and went to pull the young man off the child. The officer then tried to restrain him while he called uniformed officers to come and arrest him.

The accused however came in an apologetic mood and told the complainant sorry for the incident. "I am sorry about the phone. I am sorry about everything that happened," he told the accused.

Witter also told the court that he had no intention of hurting her, but said he needed a phone and he was not working and so could not purchase one. He also claimed he had no intentions of getting into this sort of trouble again. "I promise myself that I will never do anything like this again," he said.

He even told the court that an officer at the Port Royal lock-up where he was staying had offered to get a job for him.

But all his show of penitence did not keep him out of jail as the RM told the accused that he would let him spend some more time there.

Witter was then remanded and he is to be sentenced on January 31.