The relatives of an elderly man who was brutally attacked and killed by a group of teenage girls posed a poignant question in court today, wondering: ‘What kind of generation are we nurturing?’
The victim, Fredi Rivero, was described as ‘an incredibly kind person’, a devout Buddhist simply trying to head home when he was ambushed by three young girls.
Rivero, aged 75, pleaded with the girls to stop during the incident near a bus stop in Islington, north London, around 11.30 pm on February 27, signaling peace and raising his hands as a sign of surrender.
However, the aggressors, aged 14, 16, and 17, continued their assault. Surveillance footage depicted them kicking, pushing, and shoving Rivero, as he asked them gently: ‘What is the issue, girls?’
One of the attackers took defenceless Mr Rivero’s glasses, while another filmed the incident on a mobile phone.
The oldest of the trio delivered a punch, knocking him to the ground where he lay bleeding profusely. Rivero succumbed to his injuries the next day in the hospital.
The two youngest girls, who are sisters, sought to blame the older girl, and also claimed Bolivian national Mr Rivero approached them.
They were arrested and later admitted manslaughter. They cannot be identified because of their age.
CCTV footage shows the teenage girls pushing, shoving, and kicking Fredi Rivero by a bus stop in Islington, north London
The oldest girl was also seen to punch the victim in the head causing him to fall backwards onto the pavement
In a statement today, Mr. Rivero’s daughter expressed her inability to forgive the girls and questioned why they – reportedly intoxicated from drinking half a bottle of vodka before the incident – chose violence.
The woman, who asked not to be named and gave her evidence from behind a screen so as not to be seen by the defendants, told the sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey: ‘They assaulted my dad at 11.30pm. My question – how can girls their age be out at that time? What is conjucing them to violence?
‘What type of generation is being raised as a result of all of this?
‘We should be living in a society where we can have a conversation and even disagree without resorting to violence.
‘I will never forgive these three offenders for cruelly and maliciously killing my dad.
‘He was an ill, elderly person who would never hurt anyone. His death makes the crime irreversible.’
The daughter said her father had several bouts of ill-health and was being treated for cancer.
She said he was ‘a kind-hearted gentleman’, who loved chess, animals, gardening and music such as Queen.
Mr Rivero, who is originally from Bolivia, spent many years working in a hotel in Mayfair and was described as ‘the nicest person’ who would not hurt anyone
She said: ‘(He was) the nicest person you could ever meet, who would never bother anyone. He lived a devout family life, he worked his entire life and minded his own business.
‘All my dad wanted to do (that night) was go home, and begged the offenders to leave him alone. His instant reaction was to make the sign of peace (when approached by the girls).’
The court heard the girls fled the scene before being picked up by police at different locations nearby.
The 16-year-old attempted to point the blame at Mr Rivero, telling police: ‘I’ll be so real, that’s his fault, he started on us, (the eldest girl) pushed him, and he lost his balance and he fell.’
The girl, who has previous convictions for assault, added: ‘My new year’s resolution was not to get arrested this year, it’s already done, it’s not even f****** March.’
The younger sister then told police as she was arrersted: ‘It wasn’t me I promise, I know who it was, it was my sister’s friend.’
The eldest girl, who threw the punch that floored Mr Rivero, had put her clothes in the washing machine by the time she was arrested by police.
She told an officer: ‘I was just helping my friends, he was pushing me, and I punched him, is he alive?’
Prosecutor Louise Oakley said former Mayfair hotel worker Mr Rivero was an innocent victim who did nothing to provoke the attack.
She said: ‘He was not the aggressor, he did not start the incident, we submit he didn’t do anything inappropriate.
‘He is continually trying to get away from them, and they continue to follow him.’
She added: ‘He was an elderly man, on his own, who simply wanted to get home.
‘The violence and humiliation they inflicted on him was gratuitous.’
Videos later seized from the girls’ mobiles showed violence against other members of the public previously.
Her Honour Judge Judy Khan KC said the girls ‘all had unusually traumatic upbringings’.
The sentencing hearing will conclude at a later date.
