Girl on Botanic Park assault charges breaches bail for fourth time

The 17-year-old, who can’t be identified due to her age, faces four common assault charges arising from an incident at Botanic in May.

Footage of the incident in the busy park went viral after it was posted on social media.

Following the incident, the girl appeared in court and was later released on bail with a number of conditions imposed.

She was back in Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday after breaching her bail for a fourth time.

A police officer told that court that the girl was living at MACS supported housing in Lisburn and was on curfew – but on Sunday he failed to return and instead stayed overnight with her boyfriend.

The officer said she failed to notify both staff at MACS and police about the overnight stay, which was in breach of her curfew. When she returned to Lisburn the following day, she was arrested for breaching bail.

The policeman told the hearing that the PSNI was objecting to her being released on bail again due to concerns she would not adhere to conditions imposed by the court.

District Judge Fiona Bagnall said she was aware of the girl’s circumstances, and said that while she was not without sympathy for the “volatile young girl”, this amounted to a fourth breach.

Saying it was her belief that the teenager would not comply with further conditions if she was granted bail again, Ms Bagnall said: “In all the circumstances, I am going to remand her in custody.”

The teenager – who stood outside the dock during the hearing – will appear in the Youth Court via video link next week.