FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A teenage boy who severely beat a girl at a South Florida middle school is being charged as an adult.

Prosecutors say 15-year-old Wayne Treacy was charged Friday for the attempted murder of Deerfield Beach Middle School student Josie Lou Ratley. Authorities say the 15-year-old girl was beaten in March on the school's campus. Authorities say Treacy punched and stomped on Ratley with steel-toed boots, leaving her comatose.

Treacy faces up to life in prison if convicted.

A 13-year-old girl accused of identifying Ratley to Treacy, knowing that he intended to harm her, has been charged as a juvenile with principal to attempted murder. She pleaded not guilty on Friday.

Ratley has recently regained consciousness but suffered extensive brain damage and cannot speak.
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Information from: South Florida Sun-Sentinel,
http://www.sun-sentinel.com

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