She had two black eyes, bruises and scrapes all over her body. A Boynton Beach teenager is home from the hospital, recovering from a brutal beat down over the weekend.
Now, the girl’s mother tells NewsChannel 5 the aggressor was trying to intimidate her daughter because her daughter is a witness in a criminal case.
The State Attorney’s Office now says it is aware of this situation.
The mom tells us that her daughter, Skyler, was scheduled for a deposition Tuesday. She claims the person who attacked Skyler, just days before, was trying to intimidate her to change her testimony.
“100 percent because they don’t want her to tell the truth,” said Denice Fernandez, who is still horrified about what happened to her daughter.
“She had mounds of hair pulled out of her head. She suffered two black eyes, scrapes and bruises all over her body."
Her 16-year-old daughter, Skyler, was in a fight Friday night.
The brutal beating was caught on camera, and eventually posted all over social media.
However, Fernandez says this was no fight, she says this was an all out assault on her daughter.
“I knew they finally got her,” said Fernandez. “They wanted to make sure she didn’t show up for that deposition and if she did show up she’d better lie.”
Skyler is a witness in a year-old rape case. And about four days before she was scheduled to give her testimony in a deposition, Skyler ended up in the hospital.
“It is possible that she didn’t want me to make my statement,” said Skyler.
Skyler says her testimony is that she did not witness a sexual assault take place.
Because of that, Fernandez says her daughter has been harassed, bullied and now physically attacked by the victim’s family. Fernandez tells me the girl who beat up Skyler is the rape victim’s sister.
“Undoubtedly 100 percent this is about her trying to convince my daughter to lie on behalf of her sister,” said Fernandez.
Fernandez claims that her daughter’s testimony may poke holes in the accuser’s story, and it could potentially help the man accused of rape.
Prosecutors say they are aware of the fight, but since both the rape and the fight are open cases, wouldn’t comment any further.
Fernandez says deputies told her originally it was unclear of who started the fight. Since then, she has filed a supplemental report.
As for the deposition that was supposed to happen Tuesday, it has been rescheduled.
Following that fight, Fernandez says they have decided to take her daughter’s testimony over the phone.
