No jail time for teenage girl who took part in Surrey swarming

Surrey, B.C. -

A teenager who took part in the swarming of a 15-year-old girl in Surrey last year will not serve any jail time.

Instead, the young offender, whose identity is protected by the courts, was given an 18-month conditional discharge after earlier pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm. She must abide by a series of conditions including taking part in an intensive support and supervision program and volunteering.

Last May, a group of teenage girls swarmed the victim. She was kicked and punched as other teens looked on.

Adding to the victim’s humiliation, her attackers made her kiss their shoes.

Her cries for help were ignored, but some of those who watched the crime recorded video on their cell phones. The video was later posted on social media.

The terrified victim was left with a multitude of injuries, including a broken nose and extensive bruising.

“It’s just wrecked us. It’s very emotional. It’s very hard,” the victim’s mother told CTV News as she choked back tears.

“My daughter still isn’t returning to in-class learning. She still isn’t really leaving the house and she’s still having a lot of issues with anxiety and sleeping,” she said.

When video of the attack was played in court, the victim’s parents became visibly upset, her mom leaving the room temporarily.

The victim's parents read impact statements, both saying they struggle to deal with what happened.

“Every day I feel consumed by what happened to her,” the mother said. “I am terrified every time she leaves the house. Every time the phone rings, I get a sick feeling in my stomach."

The victim’s father said he has many sleepless nights and still feels sick about what happened. He won’t forget going to the hospital to see his daughter after the attack.

“I didn’t want her to see how much it destroyed me inside,” he said, explaining that his daughter had tried to walk away from the attack and didn’t understand why girls she thought were her friends would hurt her.

“I lost a piece of me I’ll never get back,” he said.

The victim was not in the courtroom. However, in a victim impact statement read by her mother, she recalled how she felt the night of the attack.

“I thought I was going to die. I have never been that scared in my life,” she wrote.

Crown Counsel Trevor Cockfield said that while the offender did not physically attack the victim, she encouraged others to hit her and was one of those who forced the victim to kiss her feet.

Defence lawyer Tom Spettigue read an apology written by the accused.

“I was not in a good place and I’ve made so many changes and improvements and nothing like this will ever happen again. I’ve learned, grown and I will do better,” the offender wrote.

The teen also apologized to the mom and her victim in person shortly after the incident.

During sentencing, a provincial court judge in Surrey noted that the 15-year-old had difficulty with alcohol use, that she had also been a victim of abuse, and that she was remorseful.

Outside court, the victim’s parents said they hope the girls who hurt their daughter will turn their lives around.

Earlier this month, one of the other teens who took part in the swarming was sentenced after also pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm. She was given credit for 161 days of time served and placed on an “intensive support and supervision order” for 18 months, to be followed by probation.

“I’m stuck between being that angry mom and I want them thrown into juvie, but then I also understand that they are kids and I want them to get the mental health help that they need,” the victim’s mom said.

“I want them to go to school and graduate. I want them to take a better path and make better choices,” she added.

She hopes parents will sit down and talk to their kids about what happened. She said even witnessing an attack and not calling for help adds more trauma to victims.