Teen to walk free after setting boy alight

A 14-year-old Sydney boy will receive a two-year suspended jail sentence for splashing a nine-year-old with petrol and setting him alight.

The victim suffered third-degree burns to 20 per cent of his body when the teenager set him alight at Daceyville in eastern Sydney in 2006.

The offender, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Judge James Bennett has adjourned a formal sentence to allow arrangements to be made concerning the teenager's case management.

But the judge explained the conditions of the sentence, which require the offender to continue taking anti-psychotic medication and receive treatment for mental illness.

He delivered a stern warning to the boy, saying he would go to jail if he did not comply with the sentence.

The teenager will be formally sentenced and released from jail within the next three weeks.