Teenager brutally beaten at Gold Coast train station by gang of kids
A Gold Coast teenager was so savagely beaten by two sisters near Helensvale train station that doctors thought she had a broken neck.
Crime and Court
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A GOLD Coast teenager was so savagely beaten by two sisters near Helensvale train station that doctors thought she had a broken neck.
The incident, in which the teen was coward-punched, dragged to the ground and kicked repeatedly, reflects public and police concerns that railway and tram stations are becoming the hunting ground for young thugs looking to bash, rob and harass commuters.
The 17-year-old girl was seriously assaulted, spat on and her mobile phone stolen by two teenage girls while she attempted to get to the Helensvale station with her boyfriend.
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The teen was left with severe bruising to her chest after being coward punched from the side and then kicked while on the ground, allegedly by two sisters aged 13 and 16. The assailants were part of a larger group.
It is understood the vicious assault was filmed by one of the gang and posted to social media.
The Bulletin also understands the video will form part of the evidence in the case against the alleged offenders.
The Helenvale assault joins a long list of incidents at train stations on the Coast in the past three months.
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Police sources have told the Bulletin they have seen a definite increase in calls to stations.
Officers are cracking down, launching Operation Luminous to target unruly and violent behaviour at light and heavy rail stations across the region.
But the mother of the victim yesterday questioned what it would take to protect the travelling public.
“You should be able to go to the shops or the movies or anywhere without having gangs of youths picking on people. They’ll pick on anyone that’s an easy target” she said.
“With all the one-punch issues at the moment, my daughter could have fallen down on the ground and it could have been very serious.
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“Until one of them does something like that, they’ll just keep doing it.
“It’s a scary thing as a parent. I don’t want this happening to another child.
“It’s getting worse out there … to happen in the early afternoon, it’s daylight still and there doesn’t seem to be any help from the public.
“I know we don’t like to get involved (but) people are just standing there filming it, instead of helping.”
The teenage victim, who asked not to be named, said doctors initially thought she had a fractured neck.
She has been left with whiplash and headaches following the assault.
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“A young girl asked me for a cigarette, I told her ‘no, I don’t smoke’. She continued to follow me towards the entrance of the train station where you tap your Go Card,” she said.
“Her older sister then confronted me. She told her little sister to fight me. She got up in my face and was offering me out to fight. I told her I wasn’t going to fight her, I’m not a fighter.
“I turned my head, she king hit me, I dropped all my stuff on the ground. I grabbed her above the shoulder and pushed her away, then she continued to swing at me and pull my hair, then I was on the ground and I was kicked by her and the sister.
“Then the rest of the group began to attack my boyfriend.
“After about 10 minutes of me being thrown around on the ground, some people stepped in and pulled her off me.”
The girl said she hoped her attackers faced the full brunt of the law.
“I do hope something happens, not just because I’ve been assaulted but because these assaults are happening more,’’ she said.
“I think it would be some justice if they did get a lot more than a slap on the wrist. That would be fair.
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“You can’t just go around beating people up because you’re bored.”
Two teenage girls have been charged with common assault and will front Southport Magistrates Court today.
Acting Inspector Troy Penrose of the Northern Patrol group said Operation Luminous would increase police presence at stations, especially during the busy school holiday period.
“It’s about community safety in and around transport hubs and shopping centres. We’re certainly being proactive around these places,” Acting Insp Penrose said.
“It will be a high visibility police presence all over the Coast — Southport, Helensvale, Coomera, Robina — across light and heavy rail.
“It includes divisional police, the Rapid Action Patrol group, plainclothes officers, the railway squad and the dog squad.”
Queensland Rail CEO Nick Easy said they are working with police to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour.
“This includes the 78-officer Police Railway Squad who are dedicated to the rail network and operate from seven strategically located outposts including at Beenleigh and Robina stations on the Gold Coast line,” Mr Easy said.
“A range of other security personnel also regularly patrol the network including Queensland Rail Authorised Officers, security guards and Mobile Security Patrols with dogs.
“Queensland Rail also has a 24-hour security monitoring facility at our Rail Management Centre and access to our system of 12,000 CCTV cameras.”
He said Queensland Rail is working with police to get a greater presence at Helensvale station following a number of incidents.
“While we do maintain a security presence on the Gold Coast line, we have recently worked with police to increase the security presence at Helensvale station following reports of youth anti-social behaviour in the surrounding precinct.
“During March alone, Railway Squad police conducted 10 operations at Helensvale station and two operations at Coomera station, with the support of Queensland Rail. Local QPS officers also conducted enforcement activities at Helensvale and the surrounding precinct.
“This year to date, Queensland Rail’s Authorised Officer Unit has conducted 18 targeted deployments to Helensvale station and Mobile Security Patrols have also visited the station every day as part of their patrol runs since March.
“Queensland Rail and QPS will continue to conduct high-visibility patrols at Helensvale and other locations on the network, according to intelligence received and shared between the two agencies.”
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