Teen stabbed 14 times in transphobic attack ‘afraid to leave house’

A trans teenager has been left scared to leave her home after she was injured in a transphobic stabbing, planned on Snapchat by a group of her peers.

The teen, who was 18 at the time of the attack, was set upon by a gang of masked youths outside Harrow Leisure Centre in north west London last February. She was invited out by the group under the guise of going to a roller disco.

The teenagers turned on her after one person in the gang was told by a friend that she was trans.

During the attack, the victim was pinned to the floor, before being punched, kicked and stabbed 14 times. She suffered wounds to her thighs, buttocks and abdomen.

Appearing at the Old Bailey, in London, Summer Betts-Ramsey, 20, from Barnet, Bradley Harris, from Harrow, Camron Osei, from Tadworth, in Surrey, and Shiloh Hindes, from Southwark, all of whom are 18, and a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, all admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Betts-Ramsey also admitted possession of a knife while the 17-year-old girl pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of a class-B drug.

The attack has had a marked event on the victim, who suffers nightmares and panic attacks and a fear of leaving her home, the court heard.

“At times, when I close my eyes, I replay the assault in my head and visualise the knife being used on me. I am unable to control it and I feel at times it is taking over my life,” she said.

In the weeks leading up to the attack, the victim was invited to join a Snapchat group to organise a roller disco. Harris and the victim flirted with each other and he invited her to his house on 29 January. They kissed and she performed a sex act on him.

However, Harris was then contacted by a friend who told him that the victim was “trans” but she denied it because she had been attacked for her gender in the past. She did not know he had recorded the sex act and a video of it was later posted on social media.

Afterwards, Harris was again contacted and told the victim was transgender, which led him to pick up a knife and threaten her, saying: “I’ll stab you if you lie.” She admitted she was transgender and was told to leave.

A few days later, the victim apologised to Harris and the group and believed her apology had been accepted.

“Harris told the group that the complainant was transgender and had lied to him about it. Although she tried to deny it, the group then turned on her and backed Harris,” prosecutor Deanna Heer told the court.

The victim sent a message to the Snapchat group, prior to the attack, asking when they were going to meet for the roller disco but was met with aggressive messages from Betts-Ramsey and they got into an argument.

“In fact, all of this was a ruse. During this exchange, between 4.35pm and 4.48pm, Betts-Ramsey was separately in contact via Facetime with a group whose members included Bradley Harris, Camron Osei, Shiloh Hinds and another teenager,” Heer said.

“The telephone evidence suggests they were setting the victim up to be attacked that evening.”

CCTV footage shown to the judge revealed the moment the victim was stabbed, with Harris kicking her several times and another teenager using roller skates to hit her. Her make-up, Monzo card and cash was stolen.

The offence was “motivated, at least in part, by hostility towards the complainant’s transgender identity”, Heer added.

In a victim impact statement, the teenager said she still has “thick scars” on her body.

“I find it difficult to trust people,’ she revealed. “I’m always in fear of leaving my house. I never thought someone could have so much hatred towards me.”

The defendants, who bragged about the assault later and posted footage on social media, are due to be sentenced on Thursday (16 January).

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