3 Girls Arrested In Videotaped Beating

(CBS/AP)  A 13-year-old who police say thought she was meeting another teenager to resolve a love triangle was instead dragged by her hair and punched and kicked repeatedly in the head — an attack made very public in a video posted online and broadcast nationwide.

Three girls, two 14-year-olds and a 13-year-old, were arrested Tuesday on charges of juvenile delinquency with an underlying charge of attempted assault for the Dec. 18 attack at a school yard in North Babylon, N.Y., said Suffolk County police Lt. Robert Edwards.

In the video, which was posted on YouTube and MySpace, two Web sites popular with teenagers, screaming can be heard as the victim cowers on the ground while she's attacked. Several others look on without intervening as she attempts to kick back but is overpowered.

"It was a beef over a mutual interest in a boy," Edwards said Wednesday. "They agreed to meet, but I don't think the victim realized it was going to be a fight."

After the incident, a group including the attackers can be seen running away, then laughing and boasting about how easily they overcame the girl. The image turns fuzzy, making it appear as though the person holding the camera is running with the group.

One of the group appears to complain that she had dropped her Chinese food during the fight.

The beaten girl is an eighth-grader at a private school, Edwards said. The three accused girls are all in ninth grade at North Babylon High School. Their identities were being withheld by police.

Authorities had yet to interview the accused girls, who were due to be arraigned in family court on Jan. 30.

Police were investigating who recorded the attack, and it was unclear whether the attackers were involved in posting the video online, Edwards said.

The victim was not hospitalized and did not tell her parents, Edwards said. Instead, school authorities learned of the video and notified police Jan. 2. That delay prevented the filing of harsher charges of assault, because physical evidence of the girl's injuries — which she described as bumps and bruises — had disappeared, Edwards said.

The victim's parents were initially hesitant to press charges, but chose to go ahead when the video gained public attention and was broadcast on several news shows, Edwards said.

The video was still posted on the file-sharing site Photobucket on Wednesday afternoon.

The beating apparently ended because an unidentified driver intervened, Edwards said.

"This car pulls up behind, and a good Samaritan cracks the door. And they scatter," he said.

This is not the only case of girls fighting online, reports CBS News correspondent Kelly Wallace. All you have to do is go to a Web site like YouTube, type in "girl fight" and you get more than 11,000 hits.

Psychologist James Garbarino, author of the book "See Jane Hit," has spent more than 30 years studying child violence.

"It's very clear that girls are being told, 'Even good girls hit,'" Garbarino told CBS News. "It's not surprising that some of them are taking that to dangerous extremes."

[MrsMartin071809]

Sear sly people shut the **** up how would you like that to happen to you dam ******* ! She may not be my friend but **** im gonna stick up for her , hoes i hope you like having battery chargers on your record for the rest of you life ! You where just joules hoes !!

[samibarry]

goes to show you there is no wrath like a woman scorned ha ha

[california01]

And fluffyshrimp, despite what you may believe not every kid wants to grow up and work in "Mr and Mrs Rogers neighborhood."

Plenty aspire to be Marines, police officers, football players, prize fighters, etc..who's offices do involve being able to defend yourself and knock people on their ***.

The problem here is this was not even a fair "fight" it was a 3 on 1 beating...*big* difference.

[california01]

lol...this actually made the news???

Folks, let's try to get over this "kiddie scrap" (which goes on 1000's of times a day) granted, the 3 on 1 cheap-shot *** is always pathetic, but girls will be girls same as boys will be boys. The majority of times these girls aren't powerful enough to break more than a fingernail or maybe burst a pimple. The girl was barely more than "hair fluffed" after all that flailing around. The average hockey check is 10 more brutal.

For a change there were actually no knives or guns involved in a school violence story. lol

Uh..we've got a war in Iraq going on...

[california01]

lol...this actually made the news???

Folks, let's try to get over this "kiddie scrap" (which goes on 1000's of times a day) granted, the 3 on 1 cheap-shot *** is always pathetic, but girls will be girls same as boys will be boys. The majority of times these girls aren't powerful enough to break more than a fingernail or maybe burst a pimple. The girl was barely more than "hair fluffed" after all that flailing around. The average hockey check is 10 more brutal.

For a change there were actually no knives or guns involved in a school violence story. lol

Uh..we've got a war in Iraq going on...

[dmruhl1]

Watching this video makes me sick to my stomach. I blame the parents just as much as these girls. In the summer of 2005 a young boy at a local pool was beaten by several boys. Instead of calling the police, one of the pool board members chose to hide the boy that did the beating at his grandparents for that summer. The other children stayed home and tantalized the boy some more by stealing his lunch, his money, and calling him names. Both the manager of the pool, and his parents did nothing. The boy that was the victim finally left. Those doing the beatings, their families got to stay and rewarded, as well as the board members. So here you have a punch of adults acting as bullies and getting rid of people they don't want, so all of the bad people can stay. Drugs, alcohol, *** seemed to rule some of the board members, and this flows over to the children. When the children see what the adults do, they feel that they can do it also and get away with it, so the police need to also look at the family history.

[cusinedy5]

I watched the video with my jaw on the ground. i cant believe that brutal fight was over a boy. i also cant believe that no one stopped it sooner than the car stopping. i think the gal standing by the fence post should be prosecuted as well. a slap on the wrist or community hours or probation is way too light of a punishment for those bullies. just 4 months ago near where i live..the same thing happened to a boy. 2 boys were playing b-ball at the school after hours when a few more boys rode up on bikes. it was 2 against one. the victim tried to fight back but kept getting knocked down. he did his best. after it was done, his mom heard about it and found him laying on the playground. she said she couldnt even recognize her own son because of the bruises and blood. he lay in a coma for 3 days!!!! those boys got more than a slap on the wrist. im with the other person who posted on here.....it would just kill me if that happened to one of my girls. it really scares me. i hope they get a harsh harsh harsh sentence. and i do hope the victim is ok.

[wendyhoo-2009]

LMAO... No god does not bring non violence. That is ***. My step son goes to a catholic school and trust me between him and his friends and they are only 6 they are kicking and biting others and it happens daily. I have seen upgrades girls and boys scuffle in the hallways or parking lot. Not that I am against or for it... but bringing god into or removing god will not change the children that go to our schools. This has to be raised in them from thier parents and also told certain people are not the best choice for friends because that child's parents dont really care. I hate when I hear parents say to thier child after an incident at a playground or school well if he/she hit you then it's okay to hit back. No it isn't. These girls that did this should be set an example of. Otherwise we are teaching our children that these type of things are okay. Just as hazing is not acceptable and girl fight over some boy that is put on myspace is just as bad.

[sanityexists]

Fluffyshrimp, I was with you until you pulled out the "R" word, the usage of which made you seem just as uninformed, ignorant and intolerant as those you were trying to educate.

[grazinggoat]

Wassup gals? did U beat the hellout of that little girl and proud of it?