Young victim of gang rape shunned by family

Published on Saturday 25 July 2009 19:28

AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD girl who was brutally gang-raped after emigrating with her parents from Liberia to the United States is being shunned by her family.

Police in Arizona, responding to a report of hysterical screams, found the girl partially clothed and four boys, barely in their teens, running from a shed.

The boys, aged nine to 14, face charges ranging from sexual assault to kidnapping, and authorities in the state capital, Phoenix, say it is one of the most horrific cases they have ever seen.

All five children are refugees from the West African nation of Liberia and the girl was lured into the shed on pretence of getting a stick of chewing gum.

But investigators say one of the most heart-rending aspects of the case is that the girl's family have virtually disowned her. Police said her parents had criticised her after the attack and blamed her for bringing shame on the family.

"The father told the case worker and an officer in her presence that he didn't want her back. He said, 'Take her, I don't want her,'" said Sgt Andy Hill.

In some parts of Africa, women are often blamed for being raped for enticing men or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Girls who are raped often are shunned by their families.

"It's a shame-based culture, so the crime is not as important as protecting the family name and the name of the community," said Tony Weedor, a Liberian refugee in Littleton, Colorado, and co-founder of the CentrePoint International Foundation, which helps Liberians resettle in the US.

"I just feel so sorry for this little girl," he said.

"Some of these people will not care about the trauma she's going through – they're more concerned about the shame she brought on the family."

Investigators said the boys lured the girl to an empty shed on 16 July. They then held her down while they took turns raping her.

"She was brutally sexually assaulted for a period of about ten to 15 minutes," said Sgt Hill.

The 14-year-old boy was charged last week as an adult with two counts of sexual assault and kidnapping, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said. The boy does not yet have a defence lawyer.

The other boys – aged nine, ten and 13 – were charged as juveniles with sexual assault. The ten and 13-year-old boys also were charged with kidnapping, the office said.

"This is a deeply disturbing case that has gripped our community," Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said. Our office will seek justice for the young victim in this heartrending situation."