TX - 21 arrests in gang rapes of 11yo girl, Cleveland, 2010

[peeples]

there is a thread in the crimes against children's forum... maybe a mod can combine them.

It's sickening!

 

[mysteriew]

FOX 26 News spoke with one 15-year old boy who says the girl asked him out, but he turned her down after learning about her true age from his classmates.

Other students echo the notion that the alleged victim did not appear to be a pre-teen.

"To be honest, she looks older than she really is," says Brandi Foster.

When asked how old the girl appears to be, Foster continues, "I don't know, I don't know what age. 15, 16?"

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/110223-6-suspects-arrested-in-pre-teen-sex-assault

I'm seeing allegations that she presented herself as age 17 to these guys.



Hancock: Yes I did. Yes I did. I said, 'Baby, I'm your momma. You can talk to me.' (The victim) said she was 17 years old and that's what he told me.

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/110307-new-developments-in-cleveland-gang-rape-case

 

[Salem]

We are not going to blame the victim here. This is an 11 year old child. Legally, she can not consent. And no matter how tough she acted, how much she drank, or how much pot she smoked - every that came in contact with her had a responsibility to walk away, or call her parents, or call the police.

There is no excuse for anyone, over the age of 10 years, to have participated, called their buddies to participate, take pictures, show them around, etc. etc. There is NO excuse and blaming the victim is not going to work.

Salem

 

[katydid23]

And even if she was 15 or 16 would that make it okay for 26 strangers to gang rape her in an abandoned old trailer, taking pix on their cells to pass around?

 

[Salem]

FOX 26 News spoke with one 15-year old boy who says the girl asked him out, but he turned her down after learning about her true age from his classmates.

Other students echo the notion that the alleged victim did not appear to be a pre-teen.

"To be honest, she looks older than she really is," says Brandi Foster.

When asked how old the girl appears to be, Foster continues, "I don't know, I don't know what age. 15, 16?"

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/110223-6-suspects-arrested-in-pre-teen-sex-assault

I'm seeing allegations that she presented herself as age 17 to these guys.

Okay - we are in a small town with accused star basketball players and the son of one of the school's board members. What do you think they are going to say? AND what the hell difference does it make? Those guys are POSs anyway you slice this cake. Good Lord!!!!!

I will remove any post in this thread that even begins to blame the victim. SHE WAS 11 YEARS OLD. Those guys knew that, except maybe the disgusting ones that came running when their buddies called.

Lay off the victim here.

Salem
Mod

 

[mysteriew]

Again, I am not blaming the victim. Period. Yet there does seem to be allegations that she may have consented to at least some of the activity. Are the allegations true or not? I have no way of knowing and it wouldn't really matter. And again I say that even if she consented, she was too young, it was illegal, and the arrests are justified- even if she did consent.

 

[katydid23]

Again, I am not blaming the victim. Period. Yet there does seem to be allegations that she may have consented to at least some of the activity. Are the allegations true or not? I have no way of knowing and it wouldn't really matter. And again I say that even if she consented, she was too young, it was illegal, and the arrests are justified- even if she did consent.

Legally, an 11 yr old CANNOT CONSENT. It is impossible for her to consent. So it is a moot point.

Even if she agreed to go on a 'ride' with the slick 19 yr old, it does not mean she agreed to any of the vile sick crimes which followed. She is ELEVEN. She had no idea what was in store for her.

 

[Missizzy]

As the Oakland schools spokesman said last month, "There are nuances we do not know", in reference to 2nd graders participating in oral sex in the classroom. While I think we all agree that our society has drawn a line in the sand concerning the age of consent, human beings don't always comply with the law when hormones come into play.

Legal is legal. Underage is a crime. Eleven, to me, is still a baby. But my reality is not everyone else's reality. I'm not a resident of Cleveland, TX nor have I watched this child's behavior. I have, however cared once for a highly sexualized nine year old (for four months) and it was jaw-droppingly shocking. When I recently did some research on the 2nd graders, I found an appalling number of articles about rampant middle school sex involving children aged 10-14.

I still have a 16 year old at home but my eldest is 36. And thank goodness my daughter has special needs and complies with a high level of protection. I've also raised nine sons and I have to say that some very stupid and foolish young men could be tempted by a young teen who presents herself as one close to the age of consent. Times have changed. The advent of R-rated films, , videos and Myspace have changed our collective children's experience. Is it right? Heck no. But young men have been known to be very stupid and foolish, especially when in groups. And they will each pay for that stupidity.

This child has lost her innocence and she needs to be firmly but lovingly set back on a healthy path. My guess, having parented girls, is that she willingly flirted with disaster (by going out with a 19 year old as I've seen commented) and paid a horrible price as things escalated to far more than she planned or knew how to derail.

<modsnip>They should have called her mother.

Should have.........

 

[cluciano63]

I sickened to learn there are 18 "men" in a small town with this kind of violence and perversion in them.

 

[mysteriew]

Thank you MissIzzy, that is just what I was so clumsily trying to say.

Right now everything is allegations, at least as far as whether it was forcible rape <modsnip>. Either way, it was rape because of her age.

 

[Missizzy]

I think this is exactly what is meant when the phrase "gang mentality" is used. And I'm not speaking of organized gangs, not at all. I don't doubt that many of these young men have fine qualities. So do most murderers and pedophiles. Each, however, is old enough to know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil. Each probably had a cell phone. Each could have walked away and dialed 3 numbers.....911.

 

[katydid23]

Thank you MissIzzy, that is just what I was so clumsily trying to say.

Right now everything is allegations, at least as far as whether it was forcible rape <modsnip>. Either way, it was rape because of her age.

So it is possible that this young girl CONCENSUALLY was with 28 strangers? REALLY?

 

[mysteriew]

There is a lot of info out there that when in a group situation people will often do things that ordinarily they wouldn't do alone. Commit violence and other crimes. Yeah, it sounds like that may have had something to do with this.

 

[katydid23]

There is a lot of info out there that when in a group situation people will often do things that ordinarily they wouldn't do alone. Commit violence and other crimes. Yeah, it sounds like that may have had something to do with this.

There was NOT one big group or gang. They were in small groups that heard about the 'opportunity' and they rushed over to take part. DESPICABLE imo.

 

[tlcya]

It is the mob mentality thing for sure Missizzy. It started with a few young men who called a few more over who in turn called a few more over. They not only didn't walk away or intervene, they purposely went there knowing they were going to participate in a good ole fashioned gang bang. They may not have realized the girl was as young as she was (it is said she appeared older than 11) but you can bet your bippy they figued it out once there. It would have to be one tall for her age, unusually well developed 11 year old for any of them to pretend they did not know this child was, well, still a child.

 

[Kimster]

There was NOT one big group or gang. They were in small groups that heard about the 'opportunity' and they rushed over to take part. DESPICABLE imo.

This makes me sick to think about!!!

 

[DeepThinker]

that poor girl and her family....how tortured they must all feel

and the parents of these boys are trying to make the boys the victims..:banghead:

my head is just going to explode

 

[sfbaynancydrew]

The poor, poor little girl. OMG...what a horrifying story. How does a person ever recover from something so dehumanizing?

Missizzy it sounds to me like the girl might be Hispanic.

Poor little thing. Sometimes the news just makes me so.sad.

 

[Missizzy]

I truly appreciate Salem keeping us in line. We need that in a heated debate when children's safety is being considered. We do not have all the facts. There's no way we will until the evidence is presented at court. We can make assumptions but we can't truly know.

However, that said, I have to say that as the mother of eight victims, I am tremendously interested in what causes a child to put herself in harm's way. I'm compelled to examine the nuances. My children went back time and time again, knowing full well that they would be raped as they simply wanted to please their friend. That's one of my life's greatest questions. Why?

There can be no blame laid at this child's feet but I do wonder as to what might cause a child to seek out the company of much older friends and to take such risks. Why are our children falling prey to the temptations of the world and losing their innocence far too early? I think these issues will be discussed at length in court, when it comes time for sentencing, and they intrigue me. I'm very sorry if I've stepped over the line.

 

[peeples]

I don't care what other facts come out.... SHE WAS 11! NO other facts can change the fact these monsters raped an 11 yr old child. Yes a child I don't care how grown up she acted or how much make-up she wore or how developed she was. She is a child. Who has been ripped from her family thrown into foster care and is probably scared to death knowing she's in protective custody because people want to see her dead. No matter how much that article states she's settled into her new school, she's looking over her shoulder.......