Second girl pleads guilty in fight posted on YouTube
The second of two teenage girls charged in a viedotaped beating of a 13-year-old girl at a Lombard park pleaded guilty to lesser charges Friday.
The high school freshman agreed to plead guilty to felony mob action in exchange for DuPage County prosecutors dropping aggravated battery charges against her. The girl's lawyer, Mike Botti, argued that his client was pushed into the victim and never hit the girl. She is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 24.
None of the girls are being named publicly because they are minors.
The video, which was posted on the popular Internet site, YouTube, shows the girl yelling at the victim and being pushed into the victim, prosecutors said.
The video also shows a second girl attacking the victim, punching the now-eighth-grader about 20 to 30 times in the head and body as a group of youngsters watch and cheer on the attack. That girl pleaded guilty last month to aggravated battery charges and is scheduled for sentencing later this month. She faces up to five years in a juvenile detention center or probation. Her family has since moved to Wisconsin.
Police arrested the two girls after seeing the three-minute video shot July 6 at Madison Meadow Park and subsequently had the video removed from YouTube. Prosecutors have a copy of the video and are expected to play it at each of the girls' sentencing hearings. The victim suffered minor injuries in the fracas, mostly scrapes and bruises. However, her mother said the girl blacked out twice during the attack, but CT scans conducted later showed no lasting effects.
Botti said his client regrets her actions and said the video shows the girl didn't "follow the plan" the two attackers had cooked up before assault.
"This is a one-time act of indiscretion by a juvenile with a clean record," Botti said. "My client is remorseful and humble and has learned the value of being a law-abiding citizen."
Botti's client faces up to three years in a juvenile facility, but such maximum punishments are rare for youthful offenders in favor of rehabilitative alternatives like counseling or community service.
The victim's mother said she has been in contact with school district officials about her daughter attending high school next year with one of her attackers and has been assured precautions will be taken to maintain the girl's safety. The woman said she still doesn't know why her daughter was attacked, but said the girl sentenced Friday used to be friends with her daughter.
"I have pictures of them playing 'Charlie's Angels' together," the woman said.