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5 Teens Waive Hearing In Polk Beating Case
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Published: May 30, 2008
BARTOW - Only one of six teens accused of beating one of their peers showed up today for a status hearing at the Polk County Courthouse.
The other five defendants waived their right to appear.
Mercades Nichols, who was in court today, is accused of attacking 17-year-old Victoria Lindsay on March 30 and taping the beating with the intent to post it on the Internet.
High-profile California attorney Gloria Allred, who represented Paula Jones in President Clinton's sexual harassment case and Amber Frey in the Scott Peterson case, is representing Lindsay. Allred was at today's hearing.
"I was horrified, as millions of people were horrified to see what occurred on the videotape," Allred said. "Clearly this victim, who is a minor, has suffered physical injuries, emotional injuries and a traumatic experience."
A judge calls status hearings periodically to gauge how a case is proceeding.
The six girls are accused of directly attacking Lindsay, while two boys are accused of acting as lookouts and not allowing her to leave. All eight suspects have been charged with kidnapping and misdemeanor battery.
The attack left Lindsay with swollen, black eyes and bruises over other parts of her body, according to a collection of video and still images released by the state attorney's office earlier this month.
The defendants will be back in court for a pretrial hearing July 8.
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