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

[lonetraveler]

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.

Picture in your mind a full-grown experienced woman being raped by twenty eight plus men and visualize the trauma her body would have. Now, visualize an 11 year old girl who wanted to be a teenager, dressed and made up and trying to act like she is older, only she isn't. Can you imagine the trauma she had to have experienced? I have a hard time wondering why she wasn't hospitalized. Twenty eight or more males, one after the other, over and over????????????? Really?

 

[gxm]

(respectfully snipped) If that is the case for some of these idiot boys then, so help me God, I do sort of feel bad that their stupidity is going to haunt them the rest of their lives.

I have no doubt that the monsters who took part in gang raping this child knew how young she is. No doubt and no excuse. The family members who are defending these creeps ought to be ashamed of themselves.

 

[Boytwnmom]

suggesting that the arrests might have been purposely delayed until basketball season ended. That was denied but I do wonder. If they had photo and video evidence of a rape of an 11 year old that occured at Thanksgiving how long should it take to effectuate the arrests? I can only imagine where I live the perps would have been picked up immediately. I hope some aspect of this draws federal attention. I'm not sure how much I trust the local authorities given the relationships and small town nature and seeming acceptance by townspeople that this somehow wasn't such a big deal because she looked older or acted older and lied about her age!!!! UGH! Also, no way do I believe no one in that geoup know her true age. it's a small town and even with people saying how she acted odler they clearly knew she wasn't older. If some guy went to her house to get her I'm sure he knew what grade she was in. This is just so incredibly disturbing. What can you do with a whole group of human beings who would do this?

There are some "reasonable" comments by locals here. Interesting to note that there was a similar incident in the late 80s involving some of the accused men's relatives. I'm very concerned that there's a certain mindset of looking the other way for star athletes in this community by some:

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/clev...11e0-b60c-001cc4c03286.html#user-comment-area


Also, I wonder exactly what this particular line in this article means:

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cleveland/news/article_8abd1eee-46af-11e0-b60c-001cc4c03286.html

"...Once legal proceedings and due process have occurred, the Cleveland Independent School District will take the necessary administrative actions that will follow the 2010-2011 student and employee code of conduct...."

more at link


Reading between the lines, is this implying that other students and staff members did not report this crime, covered up some facts, or were involved in some other capacity?

 

[Missizzy]

Mysteriew--I'm pleased that you and your son know the age of consent laws. I wish all young men and women did. However, here in Oregon, they are very very difficult to understand. The lines keep moving and change with each day a child grows older (as LE counts days, not years of age). The age of consent in Oregon is 18. That seems straightforward enough. But unless both parties are over 18, the laws become very hazy and open to interpretation by the prosecutors.

For example, an 18 year old having sex with a 17 year old will be charged as the 18 year old is an adult abusing a child. A 17 year old having sex with a 15 year old will not. They might get counseling but it's highly unlikely they will be formally charged. Then there's the issue of the three year age difference clause. That same 17 year old will be charged if he/she has sexual contact with a child a few days shy of his/her 14th birthday. Then there's the issue of authority--was the older child a mentor or did he/she hold any authority over the child such as sibling status? Then there's the slippery slope of the issue of developmental levels. IQs matter as does level of functioning. If two 17 year olds are caught having sex and one has a cognitive challenge, that can be a factor. An adult of any IQ level can consent to sex and yet it can also cross the line into abuse if it can be shown that the adult was not acting in their best interests. I have a very hard time keeping up and I know my friends in law and justice are constantly scrambling to keep up.

I think I've seen that this young lady was a high achiever in school, is that correct? Didn't I read that she was involved in music and possibly on the Honor Roll? I can't seem to find the link but I believe I read that.

I wanted to point out that one of my daughters who was raped and whose convicted rapist did 10 years was also on the Honor Roll (every year) and tremendously gifted in music--to such a degree that she was the only minor who sang with a well known adult chorus and yet could not read music. I mention this as I know these facts to be true about my lovely girl. I also know she has a 63 IQ. She is the one who encouraged our other children to not be "afraid" and that it didn't hurt "too much" when she was a 9-10 year old victim. She was desperate for approval and attention from older boys and men. Many many people meeting her found her to be charming, savvy, and lovely. It was only after about ten minutes of speaking that it became clear that she only functioned on about an 8 year old level and yet had the body and hormones of a healthy teen.

I bring this up merely as a possible mitigating factor. I don't find it to be discriminatory at all of the young lady as asking if someone has special challenges is not. It's no different that inquiring if someone has a vision or hearing deficit.

If this young lady has any of these challenges in her life, that adds an entirely different element to this case. It could help me better understand some of her actions and would also raise my level of disgust concerning these boys and men. I have an entire folder of cases concerning this very issue. They are truly heartbreaking as the victims often don't fully understand the depth of the crime committed against them. Fully 80% of our disabled population suffer from sexual abuse at some point in their lives and it is often during their school years.

Once again, this may be totally off base but I do wonder.

 

[peeples]

At the school she's in now she's participating in the talented and gifted program.

 

[lonetraveler]

This is an older article from Feb 18

snip...They have all been charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child. That means the suspects are accused of having sex with the girl more than once.

snip....Many students say the victim presented herself as a willing participant, even though by law she isn't old enough to consent.

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/110218-police-id-suspects-in-cleveland-sex-assault-case

It is no surprise to me that "some" of the students are blaming the victim. I'm sure that these thugs had their own realtives, friends, co-horts, partners in crime, just pick one who will defend these 's honor...........gag.

 

[lonetraveler]

Jane V. Mitchell on Issues is covering this case right now.

 

[katydid23]

Picture in your mind a full-grown experienced woman being raped by twenty eight plus men and visualize the trauma her body would have. Now, visualize an 11 year old girl who wanted to be a teenager, dressed and made up and trying to act like she is older, only she isn't. Can you imagine the trauma she had to have experienced? I have a hard time wondering why she wasn't hospitalized. Twenty eight or more males, one after the other, over and over????????????? Really?

I wonder the same thing, and I assume there would have been some scratches and bruises as I have a hard time believing these scumbags were being gentle with her all of that time.

It is hard for me to understand why her mother or older sister or somebody never noticed something was wrong when she came home. Wouldn't you notice something was a little off if your 11 yr old had been raped by 28 strangers?JMO

 

[peeples]

CNN article the affidavit has been released but cannot finda copy of it..

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/03/08/texas.assault.arrests/index.html?hpt=T2

Not too much new it clears up the thing about her going to the police though...she told a PO assigned to the school who then in turn contacted the PD.

The girl told a school district police chief about the incident, who notified Cleveland police on December 3, the affidavit said. The chief then interviewed employees of the Cleveland Independent School District who had heard of the incident, according to the documents.


It DOES say school employees were aware of the incident!!! That makes me angry...

 

[peeples]

Oh also a defense attorney for 1 of the monsters said the number may go as high as 28 people.. sickening just sickening.....

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/03/08/texas.assault.arrests/index.html?hpt=T2

 

[Beyond Belief]

This act is beyond comprehension. It almost seems unbelievable. Anyone who participated in this should be looking at long prison sentences.
What a bunch of animals.

 

[Missizzy]

Thank you Peeples. I wanted to check as many states have discontinued those programs due to budget cuts and all students requiring extra services--whether the gifted or those with challenges--are under an Exceptional Students Program. Thank you for clearing that up.

 

[mysteriew]

Here is a puzzle for you. There is a 14 yo being charged in this case. My question is did he watch the others raping the girl? If so shouldn't charges have been filed on his behalf? Isn't it child abuse to commit a sex act in front of a minor child? (He is also under the age of consent.) Any pics of him as well as of the other minors under age 17, would also be called child . They were also permitted to be present and involved during the commission of a felony act, isn't that also illegal? .

 

[sfbaynancydrew]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110309...lYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDMThhcnJlc3RlZGlu

The girl has been raped on several other occasions as well by more than one person.

 

[reen]

CNN article the affidavit has been released but cannot finda copy of it..

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/03/08/texas.assault.arrests/index.html?hpt=T2

Not too much new it clears up the thing about her going to the police though...she told a PO assigned to the school who then in turn contacted the PD.

The girl told a school district police chief about the incident, who notified Cleveland police on December 3, the affidavit said. The chief then interviewed employees of the Cleveland Independent School District who had heard of the incident, according to the documents.


It DOES say school employees were aware of the incident!!! That makes me angry...

They did act quickly, though, and appropriately. From what I understand, the girl's friend learned of the videos circulating some time after the event, told a teacher, who then told school police. They brought the victim in for an interview, she disclosed, then they had to determine that it did not happen on school property, then the county police were brought in.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong - there are some conflicting reports about everything around this horror show.

I just can't wrap my head around this. As Lonetraveler said, this would send a grown woman to the hospital, let alone an 11-year-old! She HAD to be in incredibly awful pain!! My heart breaks for her.

ETA: Other articles state that the girl borrowed her father's cell phone, the mom saw a nasty photo and told police herself. I can't figure out which is correct.

 

[tlcya]

They did act quickly, though, and appropriately. From what I understand, the girl's friend learned of the videos circulating some time after the event, told a teacher, who then told school police. They brought the victim in for an interview, she disclosed, then they had to determine that it did not happen on school property, then the county police were brought in.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong - there are some conflicting reports about everything around this horror show.

I just can't wrap my head around this. As Lonetraveler said, this would send a grown woman to the hospital, let alone an 11-year-old! She HAD to be in incredibly awful pain!! My heart breaks for her.

ETA: Other articles state that the girl borrowed her father's cell phone, the mom saw a nasty photo and told police herself. I can't figure out which is correct.

BBM I think the mother found a picture on the father's cel phone after the 11 year old daughter had used it. I am assuming that this girl was being harrassed with images of this event via social sites. The mother claims she took the phone with the pornographic image of the boy to police who said they would look into it. I doubt the police took it as evidence of a gang rape but rather thought it some boy sexting the girl.

Meanwhile, while LE decides what it is going to do about the cel phone image, the rape images are circulating at the middle school attended by this girl. A student reported it to a teacher who reported it to the principal who confronted the victim.

Then LE was called in and the victim admitted to principal and LE what had oocurred over the Thanksgiving break. I don't think LE knew the cel phone image had anything to do with a rape as I do not think it had been reported yet.

At least that is how I've interpretted the varioius articles about how this all came to light.

 

[peeples]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110309...lYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDMThhcnJlc3RlZGlu

The girl has been raped on several other occasions as well by more than one person.

Dear God

"Court records allege the girl was raped on at least three different occasions last year. Besides the Nov. 28 attack, indictments in the case say there also were attacks on Sept. 15 and Oct. 25. Each time, at least two individuals were involved in the attacks."

 

[wfgodot]

Two critical looks at New York Times coverage of the case:

The New York Times' Rape-Friendly Reporting (Mother Jones)

The New York Times' sloppy, slanted child rape story (Salon)

 

[jjenny]

Here is a puzzle for you. There is a 14 yo being charged in this case. My question is did he watch the others raping the girl? If so shouldn't charges have been filed on his behalf? Isn't it child abuse to commit a sex act in front of a minor child? (He is also under the age of consent.) Any pics of him as well as of the other minors under age 17, would also be called child . They were also permitted to be present and involved during the commission of a felony act, isn't that also illegal? .

It's 11 year old who is considered a victim, and not males who are alleged to have assaulted her, even if they themselves are under the age of 18.
Prosecution has a wide discretion on whether to file charges, so why would they be concerned about alleged perpetrators?

 

[Missizzy]

To clarify (if we can trust this to be factual):

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110309...lYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDMThhcnJlc3RlZGlu

"...The investigation began Dec. 1 after a friend of the girl told a teacher he had seen the video of one of the alleged attacks, said SG, a spokeswoman for the school district in Cleveland, about 45 miles northeast of Houston.

The district's police chief questioned the girl and her mother and discovered the video had been shot off school property over the Thanksgiving Day holiday break. School district authorities were not able to recover any cell phones that had video of the alleged attack and the investigation was turned over to police...."

more at link


Does this strike anyone else as odd? The Police Chief interviewed the girl and her mother but the school was given the task of finding the cell phones? When they couldn't find them, school officials turned it back over to the police. Was someone buying a little time here?

My heart breaks for this victim. This is exactly what I was afraid of. So often prior victims seem to walk around with a flag flying saying "pick me, I've been a victim", while they are totally unaware of that "flag". The predators seem to be able to find them every time. It's so so sad.