An 11-year-old girl charged with second-degree felony aggravated battery appeared in a Miami courtroom this week in connection with an attack at Nautilus Middle School in Miami Beach. Cellphone video captured the Sept. 24 assault in the school cafeteria, which shows the victim being repeatedly struck.
The victim’s mother said her daughter suffered head injuries, including a scalp laceration. A judge ordered the suspect to have no contact with the victim, including on social media. The suspect’s mother told the court she had pulled her daughter out of the school, citing a lack of administrative support. A public defender was appointed because the family was found to be indigent. Trial is set for Dec. 21.
The victim’s mother broke down outside the courtroom and said the attack was filmed by the suspect’s cousin and was premeditated. She said it stemmed from a dispute over her daughter starting a cheerleading group. The family has retained attorney Gina Raijman, who said school administrators knew about the conflict in advance and failed to protect the student. The family is weighing legal action against the Miami-Dade County School Board.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools said staff met with the students before the fight to defuse tensions. The district said the matter was handled under the code of student conduct and referred to law enforcement. Superintendent Rafael Villalobos called the incident unacceptable and said the case would be addressed at the highest level of the student conduct code. He acknowledged that staff did not see the fight start and that it took too long for them to respond.
Under Florida law, children as young as 7 can face charges for certain offenses, though most cases go through the juvenile justice system rather than adult court.
