Girl, 17, stomped on, punched, bitten in savage southeast teen gang attack
A 17-year-old girl was terrified to receive a phone call telling her a friend had been injured in an attack at Springvale. But when she rushed to render assistance, a gang was waiting around the corner to unleash an onslaught on her.
South East
Don't miss out on the headlines from South East . Followed categories will be added to My News.
A teen gang lured an ex-friend into a dimly lit street in Melbourne’s southeast before unleashing a brutal assault on her and leaving her on the pavement, a court has heard.
And smug members of the vicious mob were later caught on CCTV in a nearby McDonald’s restaurant “smiling broadly” and re-enacting the six-minute ordeal where the 17-year-old victim was stomped on, punched, and bitten.
One of the gang members — a 16-year-old girl of African appearance — appeared in a Childrens’ Court on Thursday where it was revealed the victim was tricked into attending the “isolated and dimly lit” Springvale street after receiving a phone call from members explaining her friend had been injured and they needed urgent assistance to “help carry her” just after midnight on November 16.
And in a cruel trick, one gang member lay on the road pretending to be the victim’s hurt friend while another pretended to render assistance.
“The victim rushed to help the person laying on the ground …(but) the accused and six co-accused were hiding around the corner,” the prosecution said.
“(The two got up and they yelled) do you want to talk about the s*** you’ve been talking.”
The victim was then swarmed by the mostly female group — with members as young as 14 — and knocked out as she was kicked, punched, stomped on and bitten.
The teens also punched another youngster in the back of their neck and threatened to kill them when they tried to intervene, before taking the battered 17-year-old’s Macpac puffer jacket, shoes, socks and phone.
The group threatened to “break her back” if she did not tell them her passcode.
A 27-second video of the attack, filmed by an onlooker, shows the victim screaming in pain when she was bitten by a female gang member.
The footage was shared to social media where it was viewed 10,000 times, however has since been taken down.
“The victim was treated for a concussion, abrasions and bruising in hospital … the second victim suffered minor injuries,” the prosecution said.
The 16-year-old, who pleaded guilty to charges including assault, also filmed herself cruising around in the back seat of a car which was pinched from a Clayton swimming pool after the owner left her bag and keys in the changeroom on February 2.
The girl drunkenly shattered a window at Cranbourne McDonald’s on February 11 and was also involved in an incident where a group stormed Rebel Sport Narre Warren and stole hundreds of dollars worth of clothes on March 28.
And when she was arrested on November 16 last year in relation to the Springvale bashing, the girl told police she was “just following the crowd”.
“We were all fighting and everyone jumped in … I didn’t think (the situation) was going to get dragged, it all happened in the moment,” she said.
But Magistrate Jack Vandersteen said there was a “level of pre-planning” to the attack and the girl failed to show empathy except for pleading guilty.
“This is a high level assault with ongoing tensions between people … she was hiding while the other two (were out on the street). Whether or not she was involved in the phone call, she clearly knew she was there at that point to assault.
“Putting the fight on social media is also a very concerning feature.”
Mr Vandersteen recommended the victim apply for assistance through the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal.
“There would have been a grave effect on her, there is no doubt … it would have been terrible,” he told the girl.
“You need to understand why you are behaving like this … at times, you are a very different person to way you are described in police material.
“You don’t have to be part of a group of people that are out to hurt people … you should be able to walk away.”
The girl will reappear via video link on July 23.
brittany.goldsmith@news.com.au
MORE CRIME NEWS
CRANBOURNE CRASH TEEN BACK BEHIND BARS