KESQ.com news services
Two Newport Harbor High School girls are being held in Juvenile Hall in connection with a video posted on MySpace.com that appeared to show them beating a middle school girl, police said.
The two 14-year-olds were arrested Tuesday, after someone called detectives after seeing the video that was posted on Thursday, the same day of the alleged beating of the 13-year-old girl, said Newport Beach police Sgt. Evan Sailor.
The attack is believed to have occurred at Costa Mesa's Pinkley Park, sometimes called Ogle Park, he said.
The video was pulled off the Web site either Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, Sailor said.
The ninth-graders, whose names were not released because of their ages, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit battery, the sergeant said.
Two other girls -- one who held the camera and another seen standing around -- could also be arrested, but that will be determined as the investigation progresses, Sailor said.
"Detectives are determining what their involvement was, and they are still interviewing parents, school officials and witnesses to determine whether or not it's appropriate to arrest those two," Sailor said.
Sailor did not know if the girls live in Newport Beach or Costa Mesa. Students in both cities attend Newport Mesa Unified School District campuses, he said.
The girls taken to Juvenile Hall attended Ensign Middle School -- where the 13-year-old alleged victim is currently enrolled -- last year.
The older girls "knew of" the younger girl, Sailor said, but he did not know if they had been friends or what went on between them that led to the alleged beating.
The 13-year-old suffered "bruises and abrasions and a cut lip," he said. Sailor said earlier reports indicated she was developmentally disabled, but that is not the case.
"She a regular student," he said.
The video was posted in someone's personal file, but Sailor did not know if it was one of the suspects' files. He also did not know if the alleged victim saw the video, but said it was "another witness" who called police.
