(Jamaican Observer) The teenaged male who was last month captured in a chilling video viciously assaulting a distressed girl has been slapped with two charges and is to face the courts this month end.
The video, which surfaced on social media on October 25, showed the two minors arguing, egged on by several other youngsters, in what appeared to be an abandoned building.
The confrontation then turned physical with the young male launching himself at the girl, pummelling her relentlessly despite her cries of protest.
“Kill har enuh,” one child was heard urging during the minute-and-a-half-long video amidst expletives and laughter.
Following the incident, the accused male was seen preening and snickering as he walked along a road. The young girl was seen doubled over at the entrance to a home while two adult females enquired as to the reason for her distressed state.
Yesterday, a police source close to the investigation said the matter was in fact reported at Harbour View Police Station on October 24 by the guardian of the 14-year-old girl, resulting in the accused being charged.
“He is to go before the Children’s Court on November 30th. He is facing assault and malicious destruction of property charges,” the Jamaica Observer was told.
The police source said the incident took place in an unfinished building at a park in Harbour View.
The Observer was told that the youngster who was heard in the video encouraging his male peer to continue his battering of the young girl was the one who recorded the video. He, however, has not been charged but “was spoken to” by the police. It is believed that he is being treated as a witness initially.
“They were all children gathered, it appears as if it is somewhere they regularly gather at in the community,” the source, who said the incident stemmed out of the two youngsters “telling each other harsh words”, told the Observer.
As to the possible punishment to be meted out to the aggressor, he said, “The Government has instituted the new Child Diversion Programme. That’s one way it can be treated with — whether by referral by the judge, so he could be diverted from the formal justice system, and once he has successfully completed, it won’t be reflected on his record.”
The cop, in the meantime, made an appeal to Jamaicans: “These are times when children have a lot of time on their hands and other adults in the communities need to pay more attention as to what they are up to because they are not in school under the supervision of teachers. Parents and other adults have to play a greater role in their supervision. Everybody has to play a greater role because there is a risk now of more incidents taking place.”