4th Teen Arrested In Videotaped Beating
A fourth teenager was arrested Monday in the beating of a girl that was recorded on video camera and broadcast on the Internet, police said.
The 16-year-old North Babylon boy, who recorded the Dec. 18 beating of a 13-year-old girl by three other girls, surrendered to police Monday afternoon and was charged with unlawful assembly, Suffolk County police said.
He was released on $100 station house bail and was told to appear in court March 22.
Earlier this month police arrested two 14-year-old girls and a 13-year-old girl on charges of juvenile delinquency and attempted assault in the beating at a high school.
The video was shown on Web sites including YouTube and MySpace, which are popular with young people.
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.
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, police said.
On Monday, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy said he hoped the boy's arrest would send a message to youths.
"I hope this arrest, which we expect to be the final arrest in this case, makes it clear that we are taking this abhorrent behavior very seriously," Levy said in a statement.
He said he hoped young people would get the message "that bullying or physically abusing peers is serious and unacceptable, not entertainment fodder for a Web site."
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The 16-year-old North Babylon boy, who recorded the Dec. 18 beating of a 13-year-old girl by three other girls, surrendered to police Monday afternoon and was charged with unlawful assembly, Suffolk County police said.
He was released on $100 station house bail and was told to appear in court March 22.
Earlier this month police arrested two 14-year-old girls and a 13-year-old girl on charges of juvenile delinquency and attempted assault in the beating at a high school.
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.
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, police said.
On Monday, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy said he hoped the boy's arrest would send a message to youths.
"I hope this arrest, which we expect to be the final arrest in this case, makes it clear that we are taking this abhorrent behavior very seriously," Levy said in a statement.
He said he hoped young people would get the message "that bullying or physically abusing peers is serious and unacceptable, not entertainment fodder for a Web site."
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Ooooooookaaaaaaayyy...Maybe we could come up with something BETWEEN letting them off and the draconian thumbscrews. I'm just saying...
Hopefully someone will videotape them during a grouping, post it on the internet, and then thousands will laugh at them while they bawl for their Momma.
It doesn't matter if she did something to make them angry it doesn't give someone the right to physically harm you in anyway. We are supposed to live in a civilized society and there just is no excuse for handling something this way.
Posted by Buzzman1964 at 01:16 PM : Jan 30, 2007
Buzz, a primary reason my friends and I didn't get into behavior like this when we were kids was the fear of our parents AND the law. If I broke a neighbors window, my father would have to pay for it and I knew that I would pay for it in spades in return. There were consequences both legally and in the home. My parents didn't pacify my "feelings". It was good or bad, right or wrong. I paid for the decisions I made either way. Kids today, and I see it in my kids friends, have little to no consequences because parents are not held responsible or accountable for the public behavior of their juvinile children under their care.
With regards to your reference to Ted Bundy, he was an adult.