No decent adult ever attacked an old man as a kid. If there are then they are such a small percent of isn't worth considering not punishing them harshly.
Kids steal beer, they smoke weed they bought from a highschool dropout behind the convience store, steal dad's car, they get in fights with other kids, maybe get arrested from stealing shit from a gas station. That's the kind of shit kids get up to, attacking an old person isn't "normal" in any sense of the word. And the severity of the damage doesn't somehow make it better or less worrisome.
The police are to be feared, and so is the judge that hands out the sentencing. They aren't anymore.