A 14-year-old girl from south London has been sentenced to eight months' detention in a youth offenders' institution, after a video of her attacking a "vulnerable" boy went viral.
The video, in which the girl says "I'm gonna smack this yute [youth]", emerged on 14 May on the Young Rich Britain Facebook page and has since been viewed 2.8 million times.
The girl, who cannot be named because of her age, pleaded guilty to assault by beating, the Croydon Guardian reported. The hearing took place on Saturday but the details only emerged on Thursday.
Croydon Youth Court heard that the 14-year-old boy in the clip – to whom the girl says "Are you gonna cry? Are you gonna cry?" while holding his t-shirt – was a "vulnerable" person. The boy doesn't react to her taunts and then is punched in the head.
The court also heard that the girl was already subject to a youth rehabilitation order for previous offences of causing grevious bodily harm and intimidating a witness.
Her barrister said in mitigation that she was undergoing anger management training as part of her rehabilitation.
The girl reportedly appeared in court in tracksuit bottoms and grey top and was too upset to speak during the hearing.
At a previous hearing, the girl reportedly listed her address as "whatever, whatever, whatever, whatever".
According to Croydon Guardian, magistrate Ken Ashken told her in court:
This was an extremely unpleasant assault on a vulnerable 14-year-old who did not seek to respond in any way.
In these circumstances, despite your young age and the undoubtedly good sides that you have within you, we consider that offence is so serious, in regards to your previous offending, that a custodial sentence is justifiable.
The Young Rich Britain Facebook page regularly uploads videos of violent encounters between British teenagers, which are invariably filmed on smartphones and sent in from across the country.