The details of a brutal attack of a teenaged girl behind a Dartmouth school last week are emerging, shocking residents in the neighbourhood known for violent crime.

The girl's ears and tongue were burned with cigarettes. She was beaten unconscious, then revived by more violence. The assault lasted two hours.

Police said her injuries were not life-threatening.

Three teenage girls, ages 18, 14 and 15, have been charged with the late-night attack in a field behind John Martin Junior High School on Sept. 20.

Police said the assault was the result of a previous dispute and the victim knew the suspects.

The three suspects were in court Thursday for a bail hearing, but it was rescheduled for next month. They are all in custody.

"It's scary. These kids are supposed to be our future," said Cindy Cudmore, a grandmother who lives near the school in Dartmouth's north end. "I think the girls are getting worse than the boys and they are getting away with more than the boys."

Tony Smith doesn't like to walk alone in his own neighbourhood.

"It's a lot worse with the younger generation than it use to be. I'm 34 now myself, so when I was that age it wasn't as common as it is now and as brutal," he said.

The Pinecrest Drive neighbourhood is filled with low-rent apartment blocks mixed with older, single-family homes. It's an area with chronic drug abuse, robberies and violent crime.

Last week's attack occurred not far from the park where Jason MacCullough was shot to death in 1999, a crime that remains unsolved.

Some people in the neighbourhood say they want to see more police on the streets and tougher penalties for young criminals.