Gang detained over transgender student ambush attack | Global News Avenue

A gang of young men who lured a student to a north-west London car park where he was beaten and stabbed because of his transgender identity have been jailed.

The Old Bailey heard the victim, then 18, attended a roller disco event with friends at Harrow Leisure Center on February 10 last year.

Prosecutors said she was attacked in a 45-second pre-planned attack in retaliation for performing a sex act on a teen who didn’t know she was transgender.

Sentencing the group on Thursday, Judge Philip Katz KC said the ambush was “vicious” and had “elements of transphobia and revenge”.

Summer Betts-Ramsey, 20, from Barnet; Bradley Harris, 18, from Harrow; Shiloh Hindes, 18, from Peckham; Tadworth Camron Osei, 18, and a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, both pleaded guilty to causing GBH with intent.

Judge Katz jailed Bates-Ramsey for eight-and-a-half years after he bragged about stabbing his victim on Snapchat.

Harris, Hindes and Osei were each sentenced to three years in prison for their respective roles. The 17-year-old boy was given a Youth Rehabilitation Order, a three-month curfew and told not to enter Harrow School or contact any of the other defendants.

A 17-year-old girl, who was 16 at the time, admitted stealing the victim’s handbag during the attack and was sentenced to a 12-month supervision order, having already been in custody for a year.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said the victim, who has not been named, was invited to join a Snapchat group in the weeks leading up to the attack, which was for the purpose of arranging attendance at a roller disco event.

Harris, Osei, Hinds and teenage boys were all members of the group and Ms Hill said there was “some flirting between the boy and girl” when the victim first joined.

Ms Hill said Harris invited the victim to his home on January 29 and while she was in her bedroom, she remembered Harris making a phone call to a friend who said he was transgender.

“She has been attacked in the past because of her transgender identity, which she denies,” Ms Hill said. “She and Harris then kissed and the victim performed oral sex on him.”

Unbeknownst to the victim, footage of the sex act was recorded and then shared on Snapchat, the court heard.

Another friend then contacted Harris, saying the victim was transgender and threatening to “stab her if she lied.”

“While she did not believe Harris would have used the knife, she was frightened and admitted she was trans,” Ms Hill added.

Over the next few days, Harris recruited Bates-Ramsey to “beat” the victim and planned the attack with others in the Snapchat group, she said.

On the day of the attack, Bates-Ramsay, Harris, Osei, Hinds and the 17-year-old boy were waiting for the victim at a bus stop near Harrow Leisure Centre.

The court heard that when the victim got out of the car at 18:51 GMT she saw a group of teenagers running along Mason Avenue in the direction of the car park and she followed them.

“When she arrived she was immediately attacked,” Ms Hill said. “The victim recalled that she had no time to say or do anything to defend herself.

“Others in the Snapchat group filmed the attack on their phones. The videos were later posted to social media.”

Video played in court showed the victim being punched to the ground several times by teenagers who surrounded her.

Ms Hill said once the victim was on the ground, Bates-Ramsey pulled out a knife and started stabbing her while the others continued to kick, punch, stamp and drag her across the floor .

Members of the public stepped in and called emergency services. The victim was treated by paramedics in the car park before being taken to St Mary’s Hospital, while the attacker fled to a nearby tube station.

Doctors found the victim had been stabbed in the nose, three times in the buttocks, two in the right thigh, two in the right side of the abdomen, the left thigh and the left hand.

Ms Hill said Harris “feigned ignorance” and sent the victim two messages asking what had happened.

The court heard Bates-Ramsey posted a story on Snapchat that included footage of the attack, photos of the victim on a ventilator and a number of transphobic slurs.

In the weeks following Bates-Ramsey, Harris, Osei, Hinds and the teen were arrested and charged.

Ms Hill said: “The evidence suggests the attack was motivated by retaliation because the complainant had lied to Bradley Harris about her transgender status.”

The victim described her ordeal in an impact statement to the court, saying she feared her injuries would affect her hopes as a model.

“I became depressed and was always afraid to leave the house,” she said.

“It left me with thick scars and I feel sad every time I see them – I feel like I’m the one getting a life sentence because of them.

“I’ve experienced hostility towards me as a trans person in the past, but I never thought someone would have so much hatred for me and want to attack me in the way they did.”

Judge Katz said: “The victim posed no threat to anyone at the time of the attack and she did nothing to provoke or justify the attack.

“The whole attack was caught on CCTV – I’ve watched it more than once. It was absolutely disgusting. The whole thing went very quickly and lasted less than a minute. Everyone took part enthusiastically and played their part effect.”

Bates-Ramsey’s defense lawyer Greg Unwin told the court she had been “in and out of care” since childhood and blamed the transphobic language she used and the victimization she suffered. “as an expression of shame” for the pain caused by the perpetrator.

Hinds’ attorney, George Payne, publicly apologized, explaining that he “deeply regrets his actions” and is “determined to use his time in prison to better himself.”

Defense lawyer Simon Ward, who has a previous conviction for possessing a knife, said Harris lacked “immaturity” and “consequential decision-making ability”.

Osei’s defense lawyer, Martin McCarthy KC, said the 17-year-old boy, who had been a promising footballer but had collapsed on the pitch before the attack, believed his actions were “disgusting”. “It was disgusting,” and said he was “ashamed of his actions.” “.