2 Charged in Sauk Village Attack Caught on Camera Phone

Police in Sauk Village are trying to determine who shot the footage of a June 2 fight that left one teenage girl with a burnt scalp and a chunk of hair cut from her head.

Shot in a public park, the camera phone video shows a fight between the victim, a 17-year-old girl from South Chicago Heights, and two other 17-year-old girls. Both have been charged with aggravated battery.

In the tape, three girls can be seen wrestling in the dirt. The victim’s face is pressed into the dirt and she is unable to move as two other girls burn her scalp with a car cigarette lighter and cut off her hair with a pair of scissors. Police said the victim suffered a concussion, bruising, abrasions and burns and spent the night following the attack in the hospital.

Police said Sarah Kraft of Park Forest and Marcelena Castillo of Steger were charged in the assault and scheduled to appear in a Markham court today. At least two more juveniles -- possibly including those who watched the fight but did nothing -- remain under investigation.

Police said investigators believe the victim and her attackers “traveled in the same circles.” According to the Sun-Times, it is believed the “main catalyst for this incident was a misuse of Kraft’s vehicle by the victim some weeks before.” The victim was allegedly lured to the park under false pretenses by Kraft and Castillo.

Police said they received the video from the victim’s mother, but are unsure how she obtained it. [Chicago Breaking News, Sun-Times]