‘Horrible, nasty, disgusting’: Pier attacker spared jail, conviction as victim struggles

But while on bail awaiting the appeal, she had engaged with a psychologist, taken an anger management course and was doing “excellently”, according to her lawyer.

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At the time of the attack, Anai was four years older than her 14-year-old victim, but had never before been in trouble with police and had abided by her bail conditions after the assault.

The judge addressed Anai, asking her to stand up in court.

“What you did … was absolutely appalling.

“It was … serious, violent conduct, attacking a defenceless young girl, vulnerable, and there’s a group of you attacking and pulling her hair, punching her and kicking. How do you feel about that?”

In response, Anai said she should never have taken part in the gang attack.

“I’ve been apologetic ever since that day, I know what I did was wrong, and I should never have done that,” she said.

“And for the victim, I’m very empathetic for them and her family.”

But it was of little consolation to the victim’s mother, Anna Axiak, who was shocked the 19-year-old avoided having the crime on her permanent record.

Speaking outside court, Axiak said her daughter was still dealing with the impact of the attack and had been too terrified to return to school since.

“The court’s worried about [Anai’s] rehabilitation and her life, but what about my daughter?

“We just have to find a way for her to overcome her fear because she’s so scared,” the mum said.

She explained her daughter had once loved going for walks with the dog, but was now often scared to leave the house.

As part of her community corrections order, Anai must perform 80 hours of community work over 15 months, and of that, 30 hours could be for psychological treatment.