Mercades [16], Brittini [17], April [14], Cara [16], Britney [17], Kayla [15], Zachary [17] and Stephen [18] may be teens but all will be tried as adults and face years in prison for their alleged March 30, 2008 beating of 16-year-old Victoria Lindsay. Lindsay, a Florida cheerleader, was lured to a friend’s home where the beating was videotaped for posting on YouTube or MySpace. She suffered a concussion, bruising and lacerations from the thirty minute beating. Update: Following further investigation into the case, charges were dropped against Cara, Stephen and Zachary in June, 2008.
Is this another example of making a shock-video for fifteen minutes of fame? These kids got their wish but not exactly as planned. What could prevent this from happening again? Should there be filters put on social networking sites to eliminate the possibility of posting criminal or offensive materials? Or is that going too far? What do you think?
Update: in a possible copy-cat case, a group of middle school girls [ages 12 to 14] beat up a 12-year-old classmate in April, 2008. The incident happened off-campus but all attended Clarksville Middle School in Kentucky. The beating was videotaped and posted on PhotoBucket. An investigation continues and possible criminal charges may be filed. The victim was treated at a hospital for cuts and bruises and released.
