Šiauliai prosecutors reopen investigation into attack on teenage girl

Šiaulių prosecutors have opened a pretrial investigation into an attack on a minor girl, reversing a police investigator’s decision not to start one, LRT reports.

The investigation will establish the circumstances of the violence near a shopping centre in Šiauliai on June 10. Prosecutors are examining suspected infliction of physical pain or minor health impairment on a child, as well as a public order violation.

The decision followed a review that found investigators had not collected information about a conflict on June 9 that may have contributed to the violence the following day. Other information needed for the investigation had also not been gathered.

Video of the incident spread on social media last weekend after the victim’s mother published it. The footage shows three teenage girls confronting a 13-year-old girl on a landing by the emergency stairs of the Akropolis shopping centre. The teenagers are seen punching her in the face, kicking her and trying to knock her down. At least two other teenagers watch from the stairs, while another records the incident on a phone.

The victim reportedly told her mother about the attack and showed her threatening messages. The mother then contacted police. The three suspected attackers were born in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Police had previously closed the investigation because none of those involved was 16 at the time of the alleged offence. Authorities said the law does not allow 13- to 15-year-olds to be punished for public order violations or minor health impairment offences.

Prosecutors said criminal liability can apply not only to the direct perpetrator but also to an organiser, instigator or accomplice. The investigation will identify and assess the circumstances, determine the identities of all people who may have been involved and evaluate their actions. Responsibility will be applied to them or to those responsible for them where grounds exist.

The investigation is organised and supervised by a prosecutor from the Šiauliai District Prosecutor’s Office, part of the Šiauliai Regional Prosecutor’s Office. It is being carried out by officers from the Šiauliai city and district police station.

The State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service said it was aware of the case. Child rights officials and the Child Welfare Commission had previously been informed about the incident.