Eight teenagers from Polk County
who videotaped a beating they gave to a teenage girl appeared in court for the
first time.
The bails set for them by Judge Angela Cowden are between $30,000
and $37,000, after prosecutors announced they would charge the teenagers as
adults with kidnapping and misdemeanor battery.
The teens, aged between 14 and 18, could be sentenced to
life in prison if they are convicted.
The videotaped beating released by Polk County Sheriff’s Office
was one of the five fights that were filmed for 30 minutes. During the violent
half an hour, the victim was slammed with her head on the wall, losing
consciousness. When she woke up, she found herself surrounded by the six
teenage girls who had kept hitting her all this time.
Bail conditions for the teenagers forbid the six girls from
seeing each other or contacting one another in any way. They are also not
allowed to contact the victim, Victoria Lindsay, 16, or the victim’s family. The
girls are home arrested, being allowed to leave their homes only to come in
court. Visiting Mulberry
High School, as well as the Wing House
restaurant in Lakeland, where Victoria has worked in the past month is
also forbidden. Cindy Sarcen, general counsel for the restaurant where Victoria is employed,
said that Wing House would do everything possible to protect their employee.
She said the restaurant’s staff considered the six girls “horrible” and they all
supported Victoria
and hoped she could return back to work soon.
Thursday, a spokesman for YouTube announced all copies of
the videotaped beating would be removed from the website, after the parents of
Victoria Lindsay asked the site to stop broadcasting videos portraying such
physical attacks.
The incident that has been all over the news shocked not
only the persons familiar with the teenagers involved in the brutal attacking,
but people around the world. Victoria Lindsay was reportedly lured by a group
of six girls and was beat with absolutely no remorse.
Apparently, the beating was filmed in order to be posted on
YouTube, so the violent teenagers could become popular. Investigators informed
the reason of the violent attack was some unfriendly remark made by Victoria about the group
of girls.
On the girls’ accounts on MySpace, upset people posted
comments scolding them and expressing their gratitude for the judge’s decision
to set a high bail. Another bail condition is that the charged teenagers stay
away from YouTube and MySpace.
The video raised once more the problem of protecting children
from websites or TV programs that include violent content.
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