They and two male classmates were charged as adults with battery and kidnapping in the March 30 attack in Lakeland, a lower-middle-class town in Central Florida.
The beating left 16-year-old Victoria Lindsay, a cheerleader, with a concussion and two black eyes. The combination of violence, girls, video and criticism of the Web seems to have made the case a magnet for attention and outrage.
efore the gag order stopped him from doing interviews, he said the attack might have been retaliation for comments Ms. Lindsay posted on her MySpace page about some of the other girls.
He said he hoped that the attention the case had drawn would raise awareness about the Internet’s power to desensitize young people to violence.
The victim’s parents have taken a similar line. “For whatever reason, this MySpace, my-you, this YouTube has gone too far,” said Talisa Lindsay, in an interview outside their home. “It’s just too much.”
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