The mother of a vulnerable girl bullied in an online video has thanked thanked people across the north-east for rallying round to show the bullies won’t win.
Shock footage of the 14-year-old screaming for help with tears streaming down her face when she was cornered by a gang of teenagers in North Anderson Drive, Aberdeen was uploaded last week, and was viewed by nearly 100,000 people.
It showed one of the culprits smash the terrified victim’s phone on the ground in front of her, before grabbing her hair and repeatedly punching her in the face.
Police have charged a 12-year-old girl in connection with the incident, while the mother of one of the others involved has apologised on behalf of her daughter.
But the victim’s mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wants the other girls in the group to be pursued by police.
He said: “They should have all been charged because the ones who didn’t will think that they can just get away with it now. One of the girls’ mums did come and apologise. She was mortified. It was appreciated that she did that.”
The victim, who is being tested for autism, and her family have been inundated with messages of support and donations from well-wishers since the ugly incident.
The mum said: “People have been so kind towards my daughter. I’ve had so many messages from people telling me about their stories of how they were bullied as well. It’s absolutely heart breaking.”
The National Autistic Society has been in touch to offer support, while a man who runs a technology shop in Peterculter has offered to fix her phone free of charge. The victim has also been offered a free pamper day, a box of gifts from an autism friendly shop and a crowd funding page to replace her phoned has racked up £475 in donation pledges.
Thankfully the victim is feeling better and is enjoying time away on holiday.
Her mum said: “She’s doing a lot better now. She doesn’t really understand the seriousness of it all, but that’s probably for the best.”