BMX bandits rob girl

By Shaun Inguanzo
AN INTELLECTUALLY disabled girl is appealing for the return of her beloved bike after thieves callously mugged her in Dandenong this week.
The 17-year-old Cranbourne North girl, who is suffering so much trauma she did not wish to be named, is appealing for the return of her BMX bike.
Her mother, Cheryl Cornford, said the girl suffered from learning disabilities and often had trouble comprehending situations and retaining information.
She said her daughter had visited Dandenong’s Hemmings Park on a bike with a friend on Monday afternoon before walking with her bike down near Lonsdale and Langhorne streets.
Ms Cornford said two young men, believed to be in their late teens, approached her daughter and friend in a nearby laneway and ripped a beanie and bandanna from her daughter’s head, verbally abused her, and then stole the BMX bike.
Ms Cornford said her daughter told the thieves she had an intellectual disability, but they said they didn’t care.
The distraught mother said she was unsure why the thieves had picked on her daughter, but believed it may have had something to do with her daughter’s new friend.
Mother and daughter are now appealing for the bike’s return – although they are not optimistic that it will happen.
“She just wants her bike back,” Ms Cornford said.
The act has left the girl traumatised, and her mother – who has three other children with similar disabilities – at her wits’ end.
“She is very stressed out,” Ms Cornford said. “She did have a nightmare last night and is now scared of going outside.
“I have got to think, how else can I counteract that to try and comfort her and soothe the problem?”
Ms Cornford said it was appalling that her daughter could not have fun with friends without being the target of teenage “gangs”.
“These kids (with mild intellectual disabilities) need to be able to get out into society and to try and have some sort of life,” she said.
Anyone with information on the bike’s whereabouts should contact Dandenong Police on 9767 7444.