Teen Assaulted, Flees Vehicle Pleading for Help
Incident occurred on Hamilton Mill Parkway near Highland Forge Trail.
A Dacula teen was reportedly choked and had her head slammed into a car window during a Feb. 12 altercation with a 16-year-old ex-boyfriend.
Police were called to the intersection of Hamilton Mill Parkway and Highland Forge Trail after a Hamilton Mill resident saw a young girl crying in the street. According to the resident, the girl had exited a vehicle and run up to a truck approaching from the opposite direction. The resident said the girl was “obviously terrified” and was cowering, shaking and crying. The resident advised the people inside the truck were the father and brother of the victim.
When interviewed by police, the victim said she and her ex-boyfriend had dated for approximately six months before the relationship ended. The victim said the ex-boyfriend “was not taking it well” and had continued to call and text her. On the day of the incident, the ex-boyfriend called and asked the victim to pick him up from a friend’s house so they could talk “one last time” since they were breaking up. The victim agreed and said as soon as her ex-boyfriend got in the car he grabbed her phone and began going through her text messages.
According to the victim, the ex-boyfriend became furious when he saw text messages from other boys in her phone. The victim said he punched the windshield of the car causing it to crack and then demanded she drive to a location where he could read the remaining texts. The victim ordered the ex-boyfriend to get out of the car, but he screamed at her and began to choke her allegedly saying, “Drive you dumb [expletive deleted].”
When the victim said she was taking him back to his friend’s house, the ex-boyfriend reportedly grabbed her head and slammed it up against the driver’s side window. The victim ran from the car, but the ex-boyfriend caught her and allegedly picked her up and slammed her onto the hood of the car. The victim tried to get back in the car and escape, but the ex-boyfriend was also able to get back in the car and instructed her to drive to the house of the boy she had been texting.
According to the police report, the victim began driving towards her home hoping her father would be there. Shortly thereafter, she spotted her father’s truck, stopped the car and ran towards his vehicle.
The officer noted the victim had a large bump on her forehead and that her left cheek was red. The ex-boyfriend denied choking the victim or slamming her head into the window. He admitted breaking the windshield, but offered to pay for the damage.
A juvenile intake officer instructed the officer to release the ex-boyfriend into his mother’s custody. The matter has been forwarded to juvenile court.
WebMD reports that teen dating violence is common with as many as two in 10 teen girls reporting a dating partner has physically or sexually abused them. One in 10 teen boys also report abuse.
WebMD advises teens who think they may be in an abusive relationship to contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233) or the National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline at 1-866-331-9474.
For more information about detecting and preventing teen dating violence, visit the Partnership Against Domestic Violence website or call the Gwinnett County hotline at 770-963-9799.
North Georgia Weather
11:38 am on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Lock him up.
Kristi Reed
11:45 am on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Truly horrible story. It makes me sick to think of anything like that happening to my daughter.
Hope Thompson
1:00 pm on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
That makes me sick ! HIS BUTT NEEDS TO BE IN JAIL !!!! Why didn't they take him to Jail in the first place ?
Kristi Reed
1:07 pm on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
The juvenile justice system operates very differently from the adult one ... The officer had no choice. If the juvenile intake officer instructs that the child is to be released to the parents, then that is what has to happen. You cannot take a child to the juvenile detention center unless the intake officer authorizes it.
Lilaine
1:47 pm on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Praying this doesn't escalate (as often domestic violence (DV) does) to a situation that results in more serious injury....or worse. Having worked with DV victims, I've seen just that....Hopefully SHE is granted a protective order and some couseling on DV and how to avoid it in the future and HE gets some anger management counseling. So sad that she has been exposed to this at such a young age. There is NO excuse for DV!
North Georgia Weather
3:47 pm on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
As a parent they can still take legal action against the juvenile.
R++ - One of the famous "Dacula Crew"
12:26 am on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
"HE gets some anger management counseling." There are just some lines that shouldn't be crossed at any age and this is one of them. Unfortunately, it appears he missed a few counseling sessions early on. This young individual should now become someone's FULL time hobby, regardless of what cash he pays. Good luck young lady and my hats off to Dad.
Note to teens out there, this is a good example why Moms and Dads really want to meet your friends and constantly tell you to call them if "something" comes up at parties and such, It can all flip in a single second that you never saw coming.
Benny M
9:51 am on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
He needs to learn early on that this type of behavior is not tolerated!!! Before it carries over to adulthood.
Tammy Osier
5:07 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Daculaweather - glad I read yours first before I replied. That's EXACTLY what I was going to suggest! I work in a field where I see a lot of this and it most likely will not stop at just this incident.
Tammy Osier
5:13 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Also, Kristi is right. The juvenile system is light years different than the adult system. However, he can be charged with assault and battery if proven. I think he needs to held accountable and bring home the message that this is not about a jealous boyfriend and girlfriend break-up but what he did amounts to an actual charge under the law. Might be a wake up call to he and his parents to explore the possibilities that he is exibiting signs of a potential adult wife batterer so that maybe he can get help before it's too late.
Kristi Reed
5:59 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Just to clarify, in my previous comment I was just trying to explain why he was not taken into physical custody. The case will be handled in juvenile court.
Tammy Osier
8:48 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
It helps to understand the juvenile justice system: I think at first glance, we all assumed this was a 17 year old. Juvenile crime is handled in a completely different way than adult crime. Instead of focusing on punishment (adult crime), the juvenile justice system focuses on the treatment and rehabilitation of the juvenile (their acts considered juvenile acts because of age), therefore is turned over to the juridiction of family court; they have no juries, but are seen by a juvenile court judge, and there are strict rules about releasing minors to parents when it is deemed appropriate; parents being responsible for their under age children. That said, however, I believe the parents of the victim can file charges and it will go from there, but under the juvenile system. So, like Kristi said, Police can't just arrest him and take him straight to jail, since he's under the jurisdiction of the juvenile system - the intake officer has to make that call. Had he been an adult, it would have been a totally different scenario.
Trish Lowrie LMT
7:07 am on Sunday, February 19, 2012
I agree, kudos to the Dad! Had that been my daughter in the middle of the street, I don't think my husband or I would have given the law a second thought.
Judy Rayford
7:37 am on Sunday, February 19, 2012
THE comments would not be going in this direction if the child had been unprotected by the Lyncher system. A Black child would be headed to state prision for 22 years by now as an example. Our mistake leaving our children under your assults and sick pups "Finally, the best part. You went beyond the pale and turned over your children to us for their education. With what we have taught them, it'slikely they will continue in a mode similar to the one you have followed for the pasy 45 years (since school desegregation). When Lynch waled on the banks of the James River in 1712 and said he would make Blacks a slave for 300 years, little did he realize the truth of his prediction. I DONT WANT TO SIT BY YA OR SMELL YA
GwinnettWeather
8:33 am on Sunday, February 19, 2012
Who are you and what are you babbling about?
Dacula O
8:16 am on Sunday, February 19, 2012
Another sad part is that this young girl is scarred for life. Such a horrible experience at such young will affect her outlook in future relations. I hope she gets the support to overcome this.