Thursday, 4:30 PM
Sisters, one aged 10, accused of assaulting shopper
By Suzanne Smalley, GLOBE STAFF
She had gone to Target with her brother and sister-in-law to buy a DVD player for their new house and decided to go off on her own. She was looking over women’s blouses when a young girl brushed past her. The girl angrily demanded an apology. The woman refused, according to her account, and tried to turn her attention to the rack of clothes.
Shouting ensued. And then, something worse. A group of girls attacked her.
"They all jumped on me," said the woman, a Hyde Park resident who spoke to the Globe Monday on the condition her name be withheld because she feared for her safety. "When I was on the floor, I was getting kicked by all of the girls."
Police said four female suspects, ranging in age from 10 to 20, punched and kicked the woman, pulled her hair out, and yanked her pants off. The woman said she sustained a broken finger.
"It’s the first time ever something like that happened to me," said the woman, a Haitian immigrant who has lived in Boston four years.
Police arrested the four suspects in the beating at South Bay Shopping Center shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday. They charged the three oldest -- ages 14, 16, and 20 -- with assault and battery and the 10-year-old with the more serious crime of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, because she allegedly kicked the woman.
The 10-year-old’s father, Robert Lee of Dorchester, said Monday that the girl is shouldering most of the blame for a fight that she did not participate in. He identified the four as sisters.
But authorities say their investigation indicates the girl was responsible for the worst of the violence.
"At this point in the investigation, the evidence suggests the others did not use their feet in the attack," said Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. Wark said the girl was released without bail and ordered to stay away from the victim.
