The teenage victim of an assault and bullying incident that was captured on camera in May 2022 told court through a victim impact statement Tuesday that she thought she was going to die and had never been so scared in her whole life.
“Every day I try to figure out why they would treat me this way,” the statement, which was read out by the victim’s mother, read. “Every day I question why this happened to me.”
A Surrey teenager received an 18-month conditional sentence Tuesday for their part in the assault.
The youth involved was the third suspect to be sentenced in connection with the incident and had pleaded guilty to assault.
Aside from the conditional sentence, they are not allowed to have any contact with the victim and they have to complete 40 hours of community service.
Last May, Surrey RCMP investigated a brutal assault and bullying incident in Surrey, which took place near Hillcrest Elementary School.
The mother of the victim said her daughter was lured to the area under the pretext of meeting friends for a birthday cake.
She was instead met by an aggressive group, who kicked and punched her to the ground and forced her to kiss their shoes.
Most of the incident was recorded on video.
In their statement, the victim said she couldn’t leave the house for weeks after it happened. She had to leave school.
“To this day, I cannot go in big crowds without anxiety attacks,” she wrote.
“I feel like I can’t be a kid anymore, it was all taken from me.”
The first youth suspect received their sentence on Jan. 11, 2023, after pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm and another charge of breach of release.
“After receiving credit for 161 days of pre-sentence time, the offender was placed on an intensive support and supervision order for 18 months with 18 months less and one day of probation to follow,” BC Prosecution Service staff said in an email in January.
On Jan. 27, the second youth suspect received their sentence after pleading guilty to assault.
They received a conditional 18-month discharge.
The mother’s, victim’s and suspects’ identities are protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
The victim in the case was not in court Tuesday but her mother read the victim impact statements and the video of the incident was played.
“Seeing these youths demean, demoralize and weaken my daughter as an act to exert control over her is absolutely disgusting,” the mother’s impact statement read.
“You broke me as a mother. Watching this video destroyed me.”
The mother said this incident forever changed her family.
“Your selfish act changed my entire family. You beat a defenceless child.”