A video showing eight teenagers beating up a 16-year-old girl has drawn outrage. The eight teenagers - six girls and two boys – have been arrested and now face charges.

The teenagers, ranging from age 14 to 18, apparently lured teenager Victoria Lindsay - a cheerleader at Mulberry High School in Lakeland, Florida - to a friend’s house and began punching her. According to police, who are piecing together the facts in this case, the eight teenagers lured Victoria to the house with the purpose of beating her and capturing the proceedings on video. They were planning to post this video on YouTube. She was slammed into a wall, and punched repeatedly as the two boys stood guard as lookouts. Severe blows were rained on her head, and she finally fell unconscious when her head was slammed against the wall.

Once she had been beaten unconscious, she was bundled into another car by three of her attackers, and taken to another house. She was threatened with an even more severe beating if she reported the matter to the police. By the end of her ordeal, Victoria had suffered a concussion, damage to her left eye and ear and several bruises all over her body.

The video graphically shows the extreme cruelty of the beatings.

According to the police, the attack apparently stemmed from some conflict that was carried on over MySpace and text messages.

The eight teens have been charged with false imprisonment and battery. The three teens who were involved in taking Lindsay in another car to a friend’s house after the beatings have been charged with kidnapping.

This might be the right time to ask where the parents of the teenagers were when all this was happening. At the very least, the parents of the girl in whose house the beatings took place need to give an answer. Hiding behind the excuse that they can’t be expected to keep a watch on their kids at all times of the day simply won’t do when their kids are involved in such crimes. When crimes are this severe, making age an excuse is simply unacceptable.

This was hardly the behavior of a bunch of innocent young girls. Teenagers who are coordinated enough to lure an unsuspecting victim to an empty house, rain blows on her and capture the proceedings on video to be posted on YouTube, show a high degree of malice intent. Let’s not make the mistake of dismissing this as a foolish prank.

To allow a cold hearted and preplanned crime of this nature go without punishment, would be dangerous. We hope Victoria’s parents are exploring all possible options at their disposal.

If you have been the victim of assault or battery, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.