British police have released shocking video showing the moment an 18-year-old transgender woman was beaten and stabbed by a gang in February last year.
The victim was lured to the Harrow Leisure Centre in north-west London under the belief that she was attending a roller-disco with friends and acquaintances. When she arrived she was set upon by the group and stabbed 14 times. She suffered wounds to her face, thighs, buttocks, hand and abdomen.
Appearing in the Old Bailey Court in London Summer Betts-Ramsey 20, eighteen-year-olds Bradley Harris, Camron Osei and Shiloh Hindes, and a 16-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons, all pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent. Another member of the group, a 17-year-old girl, was charged with theft of the woman’s belongings, and possession of a class-B drug.
The court heard that the group planned the attack after one of the convicted attackers, who previously had a sexual encounter with the young woman, discovered she was transgender.
On Thursday all members of the group were sentenced. Summer Betts-Ramsey was sentenced to eight and half years, with four years and six months to be spend in custody and the remainder on license. Alongside pleading guilty to assault she also admitted to possession of an offensive weapon.
Hindes, Harris and Osei all received jail sentences of three years, while the unnamed 16-year-old was given an 18-month supervision order. The sixth offender was given a 12-month supervision order having already spent a year in custody in the lead up to the trial.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC told the court that the assault was linked to an earlier sexual interaction.
Weeks before the attack the victim was invited to join a Snapchat group created to organise the social event of attending a roller-disco. The victim attended the home of Harris on January 29th 2024 and while in his bedroom she recalled Harris being on the phone to a friend who said she was transgender.
“Having been attacked in the past because of her transgender identity, she denied it,” Heer said. “She and Harris then kissed, and the victim performed oral sex upon him.”
The victim was unaware that she was secretly being filmed, and footage of the sexual encounter was later uploaded on to Snapchat. Prosecutors outlined that Harris recruited Betts-Ramsey to help him and the other boys beat up the victim, and they planned their attack via the Snapchat app.
Video shown to the court showed the victim arriving at a bus stop and quickly being led to a nearby carpark. Here the male offenders punched her, and she quickly fell to the ground. Betts-Ramsey took out a knife and began stabbing the young woman, while the young ben continued to kick and punch her.
The assaulted ended when members of the public intervened and called emergency services. The offenders fled the scene to a nearby tube station but were later apprehended by police.
Betts-Ramsey posted video of the assault to social media, and had also taken pictures of Osei, Hindes and Harris before the attack. While Harris sent messages to the victim pretending that he had not been involved.
David Siebler, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said it was an appalling case of pre-planned violence.
“This was an appalling pre-planned and vicious group assault, leaving the victim needing hospital treatment for the injuries she sustained.
“Careful analysis of messages and phone records, including Snapchat exchanges using transphobic language to describe the victim, proved the attack was a hate crime, and we successfully applied to the court to increase the sentence passed today.
“The Crown Prosecution Services works closely with the police to ensure that perpetrators of hate crimes are brought to justice.”
The CPS successfully applied for tougher sentences to reflect the attack was a transphobic hate crime.
In court the victim of the attack shared how the assault has had a major effect on her life. She also gave permission for video of the assault to be released to show the level of violence involved.
She told the court that the assault had left her fearful of leaving her home, and that she had been left with thick scars that had potentially ended her dreams of working as a model.
“”The incident has resulted in thick scars on my body which saddens me every time I see them – I feel like I am the one living a life sentence due to them.
“In the past I have experienced animosity towards me being transgender, but I never thought anyone would have so much hatred for me and want to assault me in the way they did.” she said in a victim impact statement.
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If you are struggling with anxiety or depression, support and counselling are available from:
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