Boy, 10, and Young Friends Beat Handicapped Immigrant Woman

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A mentally handicapped woman from Vietnam was battered by a group of young boys who invaded her Philadelphia home, beat her and robbed her

A 10-year-old boy has been arrested and charged with the assault. Two younger children who allegedly took part in the attack on the woman cannot be charged under Pennsylvania state law because they are uner age 10.

The boys broke into Minh Tran's house and beat her with sticks, rocks, and items from the home, including a potted plant they threw at her face, according to Philadelphia police Lt. Harold Lloyd. Tran, 51, was found cowering in her backyard by neighbors after the attack.

"She said, 'I'm so scared I'm so scared, the three boys came to attack me,'" Tran's landlord told ABC News affiliate WPVI. "And I said, 'what happened Minh,' and she kneeled down and said please please protect me."

They boys made off with $20 from the woman's home.

The 10-year-old boy was taken into custody after his mother called police to turn him in.

Tran is an immigrant from Vietnam who had been targeted by the boys because of a mental disability, police said. She had been harassed by the same children leading up to the attack.

She was treated briefly at a hospital and released. Minh Tran, who does not speak English, could not be reached by ABC News.

The 10-year-old boy is charged with a battery of crimes, including aggravated assault, simple assault, conspiracy, criminal trespassing, theft, reckless endangering of another person, robbery and burglary. Because he is a juvenile, his identity is protected. He will go to trial on Aug. 22.

The other two children involved will be refereed to the Department of Human Services, according to the district attorney's office.

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6,755 comments

  • Christina  •  5 days ago
    if they are 10 and under now and commiting such HORRIBLE crimes, what kinda crimes will they be commiting at 15 and 20?
    • Derek 4 days ago
      Hopefully they will ether go straight or die at the hands of their intended victim.
    • thomaspain 4 days ago
      "they are coward punks who werent raised to be men"
      They weren't raised BY men. Over 50% of young mothers today are unmarried.
      TIKKUN OLAM - to serve man.
    • Will 4 days ago
      wow make a comment about our forefathers and we look at it and say oh my thats ok make a comment about their forfathers and we hit the roof
  • Eurotrash  •  5 days ago
    Nice. Kudos to mom though for teaching her little sunshine that actions have consequences
    • PJ 4 days ago
      Kathleen, I don`t think your statement is fair & it is sexist. What do you want a man to do to prove his manhood? Grab a club and the back of a woman`s hair as he pulls her in the house if she wants to run him off? He could beat her into not running him off. That goes back to the cave man days. Today, the legal system allows a man or woman to equally walk out on each other no matter how much the other demands one to stay. In fact, if one starts demanding the other to stay, a restraining order with the threat of arrest could be issued. And if one physcially tries to force the other to stay, more serious charges would come up. A woman has the legal right to "run off" a man & unless he wants to break the law, there is nothing he can do about it. That is just the way it is and it has nothing to do with a man not being a man.
    • kathleen 4 days ago
      @Been There, a man who lets a woman "run him off" is not a man at all. He's a weak little boy who probably doesn't want to be a dad anymore. When you become a parent, you're a parent for life. Tired of hearing dads blame the mom for not getting access to their kids... I know there are moms who try, but you stay and fight for your kids. What does it tell the kids when you give up?
    • rodney mcneal 4 days ago
      You are right about kids these days,but look at the adults,too! It does not take a couple to raise decent children;it takes being a parent-that's all. This is ridiculous and even though I am thrilled that 1 mother turned her child in,I cannot help but wonder where he learned his behavior. If I ever learn of my child,no matter the age,did something like this,I would be in jail myself,because I would try my best 1/2 kill his #$%$
  • !  •  5 days ago
    At least one parent did the right thing. ya this is a re-education time for those kids. that is a 30 mile walk a day type of re-education.
    • Brian 8 hours ago
      Robert I am a Christian I dont think you read the post. The people fighting for this so called freedom want to impose that sort of law. Wow, thanks for lumping us all in.
    • MJR.Media 4 days ago
      I think rather than sit here in judgement of the mother of these boys, we should do what we can personally to be a friend to parents in our community, especially single parents who have a difficult time financially and emotionally raising children in this country. @BadAngel and DavidB - do you have any children? Would you force your child to have an abortion? Fewer than 50% of the people in the USA earn a "living wage" with any health care, retirement or even sick days. The majority of people who get food stamps WORK (and the largest number are white btw.) If you make more than $20 per hour, count yourself lucky these days because many people work for half that amount at 2 jobs with no benefits and parents are stressed out trying to pay bills and keep a car running... difficult to raise children in USA - ranked #40 as best place for mothers (even though still richest country in the world.)
    • MJR.Media 4 days ago
      @Thomaspain: Women played a big role in the Arab Spring but in countries like Saudi Arabia (a US dictator-ally) women can not drive a car, can not be seen in public without being covered from head to foot, and we have seen many examples of women stoned, beaten and disfigured for speaking out. I don't think most mothers (I am one) try to set their children up for punishment by making them activists.. but mothers will rise up sometimes, especially if they see no end to the abuse within their family (which includes multiple wives and even abuse by their husband's parents.)
  • CeeJay  •  5 days ago
    Beat the s*** out of the little punks. After that make them clean and repaint the victim's home and force them to do chores there for the next year. That may instil some discipline and respect in their minds.
    • free child 4 days ago
      Being that the woman is developmentally disabled, she may well fear small boys and probably could never get over her fear of these kids. It would be tormenting her to have them in her space...
  • Missa  •  5 days ago
    I can't help thinking about what would've happened to me at age 10 if I'd even THOUGHT about doing something like this, and my parents found out about it. I once took a $5 bill from one of my aunts' wallets and I don't think I sat comfortably for a week. Never did anything like that again, either.
    • Manda 4 days ago
      @ Bob Saget....maybe that's what's wrong with kids these days; they don't get spanked!
    • Manda 4 days ago
      I stole a charm from my cousin when I was 8. My mom and aunt found out very quickly. I was punished, both grounded and spanked, as well as having to apologize and tell my aunt, who would have done anything for me, why I had stolen from her. It was embarrassing and I never did something like that again. Kids don't fear their parents anymore. It's very sad.
    • BoB sAGet 4 days ago
      sick how many pro spankers(child beaters) there are. any humans left? thumbs up
  • StephenF  •  Needham, Massachusetts  •  5 hours ago
    These dudes will grow up and end up dead or in prison for most of their lives...The general trend of our world is that the places and countries that produce children in large numbers and don't take good care of them, will have large numbers of random violence and general mayhem. Our prison system in this country is the one recession proof industry. I am now against legalizing any drugs because I think it is too late, a huge chunk of the country can't get work, so we need to leave them some options!!!
  • Dennis  •  Boston, Massachusetts  •  5 days ago
    Politics is one thing,but this act is unspeakable.I would love to take a serious look at their parents.
  • fight fan  •  5 days ago
    'She had been harassed by the same children leading up to the attack' ... okay, seems like their little #$%$ should have been beaten BEFORE this happened !!
  • sheila  •  5 days ago
    The mother called the police on her son good for her...If that had been my 10yr old son an ambulance and police car would be called for him...
  • c.p.  •  5 days ago
    Wait! So as long as you are under 10 years old you can't be charged at all?! Well that will certainly teach those kids a lesson....ridiculous! Had the woman died these little kids would be murderers before the age of 10....gee wonder what they will do when they get older?!
  • Russ  •  5 days ago
    Sometimes, I feel that I have been blessed, by having no children....If that 10 yr. old were mine, I would surely end up in jail, by the time I got through with him.
  • B  •  2 days 5 hours ago
    Black sociopaths are a dime a dozen. They always have been and always will be.
  • Anthony  •  4 days ago
    Weight and height averages have been skyrocketing among kids born in the last 10 years. It is no longer rare to have 10 year olds that are over 5 1/2 ft tall, and often up to 150 lbs. These young beasts are larger than the average adult size in many poor countries. I've seen some 6 year olds that could easily tackle a little old Asian grandmother. Regardless of how under developed their brains are, these children can be a real physical threat.
  • roscoe  •  Atlanta, Georgia  •  4 days ago
    I really hope they teach this child a lesson and get him serious counselling before he kills someone later in life. Kudos to his Mom for turning him in.
  • Rich from ohio  •  5 days ago
    Let me be there DAD for a day....PLSE!!!
  • Bill ohio  •  2 days 19 hours ago
    wow, at 10! time to stop protecting these criminals. i dont care if they are 10. if you dont get them now you will be holding their murder trail by the time they are 15. and what kind of parents do they have? the one turned hers in but what about the rest? and where did they learn thats this was ok? man this world is broken.
  • Amat  •  5 days ago
    i swear people in this country are sick !!!!!!!!!!
  • D H  •  Roslyn, New York  •  2 days 18 hours ago
    Another chimp attack.
  • S. Nick  •  Beverly Hills, California  •  3 days ago
    The poor get FREE housing, free food, free cheese, free education, free health care, lower admissions to college, and preferential treatment when hiring and they think they are disadvantaged. LOL.

    How about we switch and the rich can get all the freebies and the poor can pay?

    THe real problem is blakcs are lazy criminals.
  • z  •  5 days ago
    is this a hate crime? white kids on immigrants? we seem to know what SHE looks like, let's see the kids or at least get a description, eh?