A 16-year-old girl who attacked an autistic child until she fell unconscious has admitted to the assault – which also saw her batter another five children.
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, unleashed the attack on then 12-year-old Abbie Jarvis at a skatepark in Glasgow in October 2022. The girl, aged 14 at the time, pulled Abbie by the hair, knocked her to the ground and began punching and stamping on her skull.
A group of around 10 witnesses then filmed the horrifying scene and shared it online. Abbie was hospitalised for days and treated for a deep gash to her head that doctors had to glue together. The now 14-year-old has been diagnosed with PTSD and has been unable to return to school.
Reacting to the plea, Abbie’s mum, Angela, 45, said: “We’re relieved that she pled guilty because Abbie won’t need to give evidence and relive this ordeal. But to learn that five other children have also been attacked by the same person is shocking.”
“I’m glad other parents have come forward and pushed for charges because someone that can carry out that level of violence is clearly a highly dangerous individual.”
The girl appeared at Dumbarton sheriff court earlier this month where she also pleaded guilty to assaulting five other children to their injury. According to case documents, Abbie suffered multiple blows to her head and body, including having her skull stamped on by the teen, which left her unconscious.
The other victims were also thrown to the ground before the teenager stamped on their heads and punched and kicked their bodies. She was released on bail and is due to reappear in court for sentencing on April 8, reports the Daily Record.
Angela hopes that the courts will ensure the 16-year-old is properly rehabilitated before she is released back into society. She said: “I hate what she has did to my daughter but she is still a child herself. She needs to be given psychological help, otherwise she is going to become a very dangerous adult.”
“This is also the judge’s chance to show that this behaviour is not acceptable. We’ve got serious violence happening among our teens in communities right now and the issue needs to be addressed appropriately. We need to show youths that there will be a set of clear consequences for continuous acts of violence.”
The mum also slammed the court system after learning of the girl’s guilty plea via Facebook. She said: “We’ve been sitting in limbo for two and a half years waiting for this court case to happenI and had no idea what was going on until I found out on Facebook. It made us feel like we didn’t matter. We should have been told about this directly from the courts and Procurator Fiscal themselves.”
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have been approached for comment.