Girl, 17, bashed by teen girl gang

A 17-year-old girl has skull and facial injuries after an attack in Masterton by a gang of girls. Photo / Thinkstock

Police are investigating the bashing of a Wairarapa College schoolgirl which left the 17-year-old with a fractured skull and facial injuries.

Medea Goodwin said she was attacked by up to seven teenagers, mostly girls, one of whom may have recorded the assault on a cellphone.

The incident occurred just after she and her boyfriend had left a private party in Worksop Rd, Masterton, about 1am last Sunday.

She said the attack came after accusations were made about herself and another girl's boyfriend. Adults at the party then told her to leave.

Medea said she remembered very little of the beating, besides being attacked from behind and pushed into a hedge.

Her boyfriend, who declined to be named, said the attackers were aged 17 and under, and were mainly girls.

The girls punched Medea, knocking her down before they kicked her in the face and body as she lay on the ground, he said.

Another small group of teenage boys held him back from stopping the attack, he said.

"I jumped in but got pulled out. I was pushed and shoved but nobody hit me."

He said the incident may have been recorded on a cellphone that one girl had been holding during the attack.

Medea said she knew two of her attackers but the others were strangers.

Her mother, Belinda Goodwin, said her daughter was unaware of the extent of the injuries until she woke up on Sunday.

She took her to Wairarapa Hospital and a CAT scan showed she had a skull fracture.

Mrs Goodwin said her daughter was the latest victim of teen gangs on Masterton streets after dark at weekends.

She was the second person in her circle of friends to be attacked after a Makoura College schoolboy was beaten and hospitalised two weeks ago.

Police had taken photos of Medea's injuries and interviewed her and her boyfriend.

Mrs Goodwin said she was keen for a family group conference involving the suspected offenders and their families, although her daughter was uncertain whether she would attend.

Masterton police detective constable Maureen O'Leary said she was leading an investigation into the assault but declined to say if charges were pending.