Scared of town after teen attack
A ten-year-old Taranaki girl is afraid to go out after a vicious, unprovoked assault in broad daylight.
Kerry Chard’s daughter Nellie was with her 12-year-old sister Ella and two friends when she was attacked on New Plymouth’s Courtenay St on Monday by an older and much larger girl.
Members of the public who witnessed the brutal bashing went to Nellie’s aid and had to pull the assailant off her to stop her raining down punches and kicks.
Chard said getting a phone call from Ella saying Nellie had been attacked was every parent’s worst nightmare.
‘‘It’s not a nice feeling at all. Not knowing her injuries or anything.’’
The drama began about 3pm when Nellie and her group of friends were at Burger King and they turned around after hearing a group of girls swearing loudly.
‘‘Then they came over and sat by us and they were like ‘do you have eye problems’ and we said no.’’
Nellie said she and her friends went back to talking and laughing between themselves but soon decided to leave as the group of about eight teenagers, including two boys, continued to walk around looking ‘‘stroppy’’.
However five of the group followed them out of the restaurant and despite crossing the road they couldn’t lose them.
‘‘Then she just came up and hit me,’’ Nellie said.
‘‘All I felt was just like cold run down me and stuff and then I was starting to get a bit worried and that’s when I got all shocked and she was pushing me down on to the ground apparently and kicking me.
‘‘I was trying to roll away and stuff.’’
The attacker continued to throw punches and kicks at Nellie while her sister and friends watched on helplessly until some adults jumped in to break it up.
Ella said she couldn’t believe what had happened and had never seen anything like it.
‘‘I was really shocked so I started screaming, jumping up and down and crying.
‘‘I wanted to help her but there was other girls there and they would have tried to get me.’’
She said she felt relieved when the attacker was pulled off her sister and immediately called her mother.
Nellie’s attacker had fled the scene but handed herself into the police station on Wednesday.
Nellie said the assault had left her concerned for her safety and fearful of confronting her assailant again.
‘‘I got more scared when I was told she was known for carrying around knives.
‘‘I would feel scared again because she would obviously know that we have done stuff about her and maybe she would want to fight back again to get back at me.’’
Chard said police had told her there would be a family group conference held with the girl and her family and she also hoped a restorative justice conference would take place between the two families.
Nellie had also been offered free karate lessons which she planned to accept so she could learn some self-defence.