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Report: Arrests Imminent In Disturbing "Girls Forced To Fight" Video
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 21, 2013
Modified Feb 21, 2013
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By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 21, 2013
Modified Feb 21, 2013
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The mother of one of the little girls being forced to fight in a NYC park has come forward after the video was published on Gothamist Tuesday and subsequently picked up by other news outlets. Police sources tell NBC New York that the mother of the girl in the black coat—the one who ultimately bursts into tears and refuses to fight—went to police after seeing news reports on the video. Here it is below—be warned, it is pretty upsetting:
One or two suspects are expected to be arrested soon in connection with the incident. Police sources say the fight happened in January at Poe Park in the Bronx, on Grand Concourse and East 192nd Street. NBC reports:
The 17-year-old sister of the girl in the white coat, who is 7, instigated the fight. The other girl in the black coat—who is seen crying and walking away at the end of the video—is 6 years old, according to investigators.
Police said the 6-year-old girl had a 12-year-old sister who was present at the fight and tried to intervene, but the older girls held her back and she could only watch. It appears the harassment of the young girl was in retaliation against the 12-year-old sister, who accidentally bumped into one of the older teens at the park a week prior to the fight, police said.
We had been unable to determine where the video was taken—the YouTube user who uploaded the version of the video we found insists he or she has no connection to the content, but merely noticed it "circulating" on Facebook. We reached out to the Manhattan DA's office on Tuesday, and also shared the original video with investigators at their request. (The raw copy does not have the faces blurred out.)
The NYPD press office acknowledged that they saw the video and that an investigation is ongoing, but would not provide Gothamist with any further details or confirm NBC New York's report. The Bronx DA's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. We'll update as more information becomes available.
Tagged
child abuse
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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