Teenagers who covered disabled woman in flour and eggs given police protection, fearing retaliation
The gang of teenage boys who were arrested In England for dumping a bag of flour on a disabled woman and pelting eggs at her have been given police protection, according to reports.
The teenagers, who later took a sickening celebratory picture with the victim after the assault, were reportedly bailed on Friday even as the victim said she fears being attacked by the youth again. The victim said: "I've got to be careful."
The boys can be seen smiling in the picture as they pose behind the victim, who can be seen scared and cowering on a bench in a park. Shortly after the incident, police released a statement, saying that the four boys in the picture, between the ages 17 and 15, were detained and bailed pending further inquiries.
The incident drew condemnation from various quarters after the image was shared on social media by one of the members of the gang. The picture was reportedly taken in an estate in the Suffolk market town of Bury St Edmunds. The residents of the area have claimed that the youths in the picture are part of a group which had been terrorizing the area, according to the Daily Mail. Reports state that the victim in the picture suffers from severe mental health problems and is believed to be in her 40s.
Meanwhile, it was reported that one of the teenagers is reportedly celebrating his 16th birthday and his mother requested for police protection, fearing the scandal may wreck his party.
The mother, while talking to MailOnline, said: "We can’t say anything about what went on over the weekend but my son’s name has been leaked over the internet and we’ve had threats. I’ve reported the abuse to police and we are now under their protection. If anyone comes to our home to cause problems, we have a number we can call which will get the police here straight away."
"This isn’t what we need. It's my son’s 16th birthday and we’ve got family here for his party," the mother added.
A witness of the incident said that the victim had a "breakdown" at the park and reportedly shouted at the boys, who then retaliated by throwing eggs and flour at her. The Suffolk police officials said that the woman was left severely distressed, however, she did not sustain any physical injuries. The incident reportedly occurred at 5:30 pm on Friday last week.
Inspector Anthony Bridgland said: "This type of behavior is totally unacceptable and we are treating the matter seriously. We know this incident may have caused concern and anger both in the local community and online, but we would like to reassure everyone that we are tackling the matter robustly and supporting the victim."
While a local resident who lives in the area said that similar group of kids generally come together and hang around near the parks. "Groups of kids congregate in packs and hang around the parks and the shops. The truth is that there is nothing for these kids to do out here so they cause trouble. There are some boys who often gather in the park behind and people avoid them at all costs because you know it will lead to trouble," the resident added.
A friend of the victim, Katherine Brame, said that she had gone to check on her after the incident and added that she was "safe." Brame took to Twitter to express her sadness at the incident and said: "I have to speak out. Today’s incident has made me so sad and devastated. The lady in question needs her privacy and suffers from an unseen illness."
Meanwhile, one of the boys' father defended his son to The Sun saying that his child was just walking past and "he saw and thought it was going to be a fun picture, someone took it and spread it all over the country. He was making a stupid mistake and he was not involved with anything else." He further added: "He's sorry but he has not done anything." A step-mother of one of the 17-year-old boys also came forward after the attack and admitted he was being a "stupid boy". "He got caught up in it all, it was a stupid thing to do."