It's happened again.
Three young girls have been arrested in New York after they deliberately beat up a classmate. Their motive for the terrible crime? To post the humiliating attack on the websites YouTube and MySpace.
The serious beating shows a trio of youngsters ganging up on a 13-year-old girl, punching and kicking at her as she lies helpless on the ground. It happened on December 18th, but it's taken authorities in Long Island some time to make their case after they became aware of the crime.
The youngster who was hit didn't require hospitalization and didn't tell her parents. And that made it harder for police to track the culprits down. When they did, they were horrified to discover that two of the suspects were just 14. The other was 13.
All three have been charged with attempted assault and juvenile delinquency. Because of their ages, their names aren't being released.
The victim admits having the video on the net for all to see over and over again is worse than the beating she received from her tormentors.
But this case could send a new message to those who would follow in the young women's footsteps - the tape will be used as evidence against them when the case goes to trial.
News of the footage has left the local community upset. "Parents are pretty shocked," agrees Lt. Robert Edwards of the Suffolk County Police Dept. "I understand why and I'm traumatized as a parent myself. If this was my child, I would be pretty traumatized."
The video is among the most watched on the Internet, especially by kids of the attackers' and the victim's peers.
It's not the first time fights have been arranged just to put them up on the web - and some of them have impacted the GTA. Last September, parents and police were alarmed when the existence of a 'fight club' at a local Orangeville high school turned up online.
Similar videos later surfaced in both Barrie and Toronto.
The Long Island case appears to show the emergence of a new trend in which the quest for online fame is taken to disturbing lengths. And this case is far from closed - authorities in Suffolk County are still trying to determine who was taking the pictures.
To see the video for yourself,
click here. (Viewer discretion advised.)
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