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That's really sad.. Poor girl. She will be in my prayers.
Girl Shunned by Family After Rape Sparks Outcry
Saturday, July 25, 2009
PHOENIX — Lured by promises of chewing gum then allegedly raped in a shed by four boys barely older than her, an 8-year-old Liberian girl is now in foster care and living with strangers after being shunned by her family.
The alleged sexual assault in Phoenix and reaction by her family have sparked an international outcry, reaching all the way to the president of Liberia, the home country of the girl's family and the four young suspects.
"I think that family is wrong. They should help that child who has been traumatized and they should make sure that they work with the U.S. law authorities to see what can be done about the other young boys who have committed this offense," Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told CNN. "Not only should they abide by the law, but they too need serious counseling because clearly they are doing something, something that is no longer acceptable in our society here."
A 14-year-old boy was charged Wednesday as an adult with two counts of sexual assault and kidnapping, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said. He appeared in court Thursday and was being held without bond.
A public defender assigned to represent him did not immediately respond to a message left Friday afternoon.
The other boys — ages 9, 10, and 13 — were charged as juveniles with sexual assault. The 10- and 13-year-old boys also were charged with kidnapping, the office said Thursday.
Police say the girl's father told a police officer and a Child Protective Services worker that he doesn't want her anymore.
But Slueue Goe, who is from Liberia and identified himself as the uncle of the 9- and 10-year-old suspects, said he knows the girl's parents and doesn't believe allegations that they blamed or shunned their daughter.
He denied that his nephews are capable of sexual assault, and said his country does not have a rape problem.
"We are from West Africa. We are well-behaved people. We are trained people. It is our culture to respect," Goe said.
The children come from a country torn by a civil war that brought decades of violence and exposed generations of children to brutality before its end in 2003.
"What you're seeing here is the very long legacy and reach of the violence that took over Liberia for 70 years," said Pamela Scully, a professor of women's studies and African studies at Emory University in Atlanta. "When you're dealing with children this young, they're mimicking actions they've seen, they've heard about, they've grown up with."
President Sirleaf said she would ask Liberian Ambassador Milton Barnes to work with the family and Phoenix authorities to ensure the girl's protection.
The Liberian Embassy in Washington did not return calls from The Associated Press.
Most residents of the sprawling complex where the rape allegedly occurred were tightlipped when asked about the incident.
Ben Haines, who lives across the street from the building, said he was disturbed that the 8-year-old girl's parents supposedly blamed the assault on her.
"That just sounds so wrong. She's barely old enough to know about that," Haines said.
That's really sad.. Poor girl. She will be in my prayers.
Man what I wouldn't give to slap the out of her parents. Ignorant pieces of ! Actually, ignorance doesn't even cut it here. Heartless s bags is more fitting
I read this the other day and almost puked. But then I went on to see that they were a Liberian family, and figured I just don't "get" that kind of culture and felt sorry for the thousands/millions of females who have had to endure this sort of treatment
I'd like to adopt her. She's around the same age as my kids and she'd never be hurt in our home. Plus, my little girl wants a sisterBut they're getting adoption offers for her from around the country and we probably couldn't offer as much as some of the others.
Agreed!
These boys have twice ruined her live. Once with the rape and another because her family's teaching have now shunned her. The sad part is it was not her fault but she will probably live with the guilt the rest of her live. This is totally disgusting.
After reading things like this, I get even more infuriated by people who cry "having children is a right, not a privelege." Personally, I think it should be the other way around, but that's me.
deport her ing parents immediately and place the little girl in the loving care of a foster family
Problem is, loving care and foster family are not always one and the same. But, the parents are obviously worse.
Rock/Hard Place.
the parents, what I wouldn't give to slap around the 4 kids that did this. It's disgusting to read about like this especially since I live in the city it occurred in.
Agreed.
It's a shame any in moron or bag can stick impregnate a chick or get impregnated by a guy. If it requires a license to drive, it should require a license to have kids.
like this infuriates the out of me, if i ever go to prison (God forbid of course) i wish i'd get a cell with someone like this
i'm about 230 and i have 2 younger sisters 14 and 15 so this is especially sensitive to me. but ya if he was my cellmate, i'd beat him to a pulp.
Children are the most innocent thing on the planet, they dont even know right from wrong yet
Well I knew not to force myself onto other people by age 7
What the was in those boys' heads?
sad story
I read in another article that rape wasn't even illegal in Liberia until 2 years ago.
Some Liberian ambassadors are trying to explain that the mistreatment of women in Liberia is a common practice hence the action of the boys.
For me, they are in America now, the parents of the boys should have taught them that they should leave the Liberian culture of treating women like behind.
Poor girl, she'll be scarred for life. I just hope whoever adopts her would be able to let her feel she is loved and straighten her path to recovery.
You want the govt to tell you when and how you can ? no, I'll fight and die before I ever suc b to that. Tragedy is a part of life, a part of free society.
And hundreds of thousands of examples of human trash conceiving and having kids and ultimately destroying their lives is a better way?
Ok.
Much, much better than govt controlling millions of peoples lives down to the most minute detail. Do you know anything about human history and govt oppression?
I realize this might have been before your time, but go find someone who lived behind the iron curtain in the USSR and ask them about govt controlling lives
So who gets to decide who the "human trash" who can't have kids are, and who isn't? What would the criteria be?
the rapists are about to feel what it's like to be raped
2 cartons for a nice yung ting lik dat
Having children is neither a privilege, nor a right; it's a biological process.
Unless you're advocating either an application process before people can , or a system of mandatory abortions, it's really not the kind of thing anyone can legislate.
Unless you consider the various sterilization programs already in place in low income communities throughout the country, though they're ineffective. And pose such a health risk to the young women being unknowingly sterilized and/or coaxed toward the use of Depo Provera (and other methods) that we would then be barbarians on about the same level as a family who shuns its daughter after she has been raped.
Last edited by CuckingFunt; 07-26-2009 at 11:50 AM.
China does it (so I hear anyway).
To be clear, I dont want a similar process here in America.
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