Woman who previously assaulted teen in viral video pleads guilty to burglary

Four days ago, on her 23rd birthday, a police officer executed a warrant for the arrest of Cora Campbell and she appeared at Craigavon Crown Court by videolink from custody on Friday, entering a guilty plea to the single charge against her.

Campbell, with an address at Springmeadow in west Belfast, confessed to the burglary of a house on Grove Street in Lisburn on January 12, last year, after she stole a set of keys.

None of the facts of the case were opened and remanding Campbell back into custody, Judge Patrick Lynch KC adjourned passing sentence until March 23, ordering a probation pre-sentence report to be compiled in the meantime.

In April 2018 Campbell, another teenage girl and another man, William Boyd, were recorded attacking the teenage victim on Bangor pier in a video which went viral and was viewed online by millions.

Initially charged with trying to inflict grievous bodily harm with intent Campbell, Boyd and the teenager all pleaded guilty to causing their victim actual bodily harm.

In that case Downpatrick Crown Court heard how the defendants had been drinking with a group of around 15 people when their victim arrived at the pier.

The complainant said that “everything was fine” and they were having a good time, but she was then approached by Campbell who “punched her and grabbed her by the hair”.

She was shouting: “Do you still want my boyfriend now” and “why did you kiss him,” said prosecuting counsel Laura Ievers, adding that during the video recording of the attack, Boyd was heard shouting “break her nose” more than once and was filmed pouring beer and vodka “into the victim’s eyes and throat”.

Describing how the victim was punched 30 times in the video, the lawyer said the girl “thought she was going to be drowned in the sea”.

Arrested and interviewed after the video of the attack was posted online and went viral having been being viewed millions of times, Campbell admitted the assault but told police she thought “it wasn’t that bad,” until she was shown the footage of the incident. Boyd (23), from Sunnyside Drive in west Belfast, and another then 17-year-old girl also admitted their involvement.

Campbell was handed a 32-month sentence, half to be served in jail and half on supervised licence.

Judge Geoffrey Miller QC said that when they attacked their teenage victim, the trio had “behaved like a pack of wild animals after their prey”.