A father has spoken of his devastation after witnessing footage of his 14-year-old daughter being 'tortured' during a 'brutal' and 'unprovoked' attack in Dudley town centre. The youngster was left battered and bruised after being punched and repeatedly stamped on in the traumatising ordeal.
Attack in Market Place
The violence erupted on Saturday, June 20, when a group of teenagers gathered at the outdoor seating area in Market Place, Dudley. Distressing phone footage, which BirminghamLive decided not to publish, captured the moment the teenager was yanked off a bench by her hair. Her female attacker then punched her several times while she was on the ground.
The aggressor was high-fived by another girl before returning to the victim and striking her again. Further footage showed the victim being pushed onto her back and punched multiple times. During the assault, her shoes came off, and the video showed them being kicked away and picked up by someone in the crowd.
Another clip depicted the victim lying on the pavement in nearby Priory Road, being helped to her feet by passers-by. The gang of rowdy teenagers were also caught on camera being aggressive towards adults who tried to diffuse the situation.
Father's anguish
The victim's distraught father told BirminghamLive he believes the attack was 'a set up' because the camera started rolling before the attacker struck. The 38-year-old father, who lives in Brierley Hill, said his daughter, who suffers from social anxiety, had gone to Dudley with a friend.
He said: 'The next thing we know, we had a phone call from our daughter screaming that something's happened. You can see it was set up because the camera started rolling before the attack started.'
Clearly emotional, he added: 'It's hit me hard, and her mom even harder. We feel like we've failed as parents by not protecting our daughter. It was traumatising seeing my child being stamped all over and punched. They literally tortured my daughter.'
Injuries and theft
The father said his daughter's bag, phone, power bank and shoes were also stolen during the incident, which left her 'pretty messed up'. He added: 'We took her to the hospital and she was released a fair few hours later with minor injuries. She's got black eyes, lumps all over her head, whiplash because they yanked her hair, bruises, grazes and a severe concussion, a massive headache - she took a very brutal attack.'
He continued: 'She's very distraught, she's scared, she's shaking. Not only this, but due to her social anxiety, it's going to affect her for the rest of her life.'
Police investigation
A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: 'An investigation is under way after a teenage girl was assaulted on New Street, in Dudley, on June 20, at around 6.30pm. Officers have been carrying out CCTV enquiries and are working hard to understand exactly what's happened. Thankfully, the girl was not seriously injured but has understandably been left shaken.'
Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting crime number 20/293621/26, or use the live chat option at www.west-midlands.police.uk.
