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A little girl is shunned by her family after she was brutally raped by four young boys.

A father said his daughter brought shame to the family.  The grown sister told the young victim, it’s not good to follow boys because you are little. She also feels the victim brought shame to the family. Even the mother shunned the little girl.  The family feel that the little girl brought shame to them because she was raped.  The victim’s sister also said, the little girl is bringing confusing among us. 

On July 16, 2009, in Phoenix, Arizona, four young, neighborhood boys, ages 9, 10, 13, and 14 lured a little girl into an empty shed.  The boys used chewing gum to lure the girl into the shed.  It is believed the 14 year old was the ring leader.  When the little girl went into the shed, to get chewing gum, from her cousin and three other boys; the boys held her down and took turns raping the small girl.

The little girl was brutally raped by four young boys for 10 to 15 minutes before a neighborhood woman came to the child’s rescue. 

All four boys were taken into custody and admitted to sexually assaulting the little girl.  They were charged with sexual assault and some of the older boys are being charged with kidnapping.  The 14 year old is being held as an adult.         

The little girl’s family blames her for what happened.  They accused her of bringing shame to the family.   The victim’s sister said, she wanted the suspects out of jail because they are the same, they are from the same place and one of the suspects is family, he is the little girl’s cousin.   

The 14 year old boy’s mother was seen on CNN news crying and said she want her son out of jail, she don’t understand why he is the only one being held as an adult. She feels her son don’t understand the nature of the crime. There seems to be a lot of sympathy from the victim’s and the suspect’s families for the four boys that are accused of raping the child.   However, there is no sympathy for the little victim.

The little girl is now in the custody of Child Protective Services until the judge decides what is best for her. 

This is so overwhelming, a child this young was gang raped then she faced more humiliation from her family; people who are supposed to embrace her, show her love, comfort her and help her through this terrible ordeal.

All of the children involved, the little victim and the four young suspects are Liberian Refugees that are living in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Liberia have a different culture than the United States.  At one time, men and boys could rape girls and women and the female lived in shame.  In Liberia, rape was not against the law until 2006.

Maybe these young boys thought they were not committing a crime.  However, the families need to know that rape and kidnapping is not okay in the United States.  They need to know that it is a crime and it is not okay for males to rape females. They need to know that it is not okay for children to gang rape another little child. 

The four young boys came from a different culture, so, they may not know that rape is a crime.  They may not know that rape has been a crime in Liberia since 2006.

It is very disturbing to hear a mother crying and saying her son doesn’t understand, I want him out of jail.  It is very disturbing to learn that people are living in the United States and thinks it is okay for four young boys to gang rape a little 8 year old child, then place the blame on the young victim, and force that child to live in shame.

I can’t imagine what this little girl would be going through right now, if that woman hadn’t seen her and if nobody had intervened or called the police.  And what about the young boys, if they had gotten away with it, would they do it again to some other little girl?  I know it’s a different culture, but, I just don’t understand.  It’s so hard to believe a family could shun a precious little child after she was brutally gang raped by four boys. 

I am confident that the judge will do what’s best for this little girl and see to it that she gets the counseling she need.  I hope she ends up in a loving family and don’t get lost in the system.

As for the boys, some of them are very young; 9 and 10 years old.  What ever sentence they get I hope all four boys get counseling, so they can understand that what they did was very wrong; so they will learn that it is not okay to kidnap and rape another child. 

 If they came from a culture that once believed it was okay to rape, could be they didn’t know they were committing a crime.  They may not know that rape is now a crime in Liberia and has been since 2006.

They need to be educated to the fact.  The families, also, need to be educated to the fact, they need to know that rape is a serious crime and it is not okay for males to rape women and young girls.