Arizona girl's attack sheds light on rape in Liberia
(CNN) -- The allegation is shocking: an 8-year-old girl lured to a storage shed with the promise of chewing gum, pinned down and sexually assaulted by four boys, none of them older than 14.
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has made cracking down on sex crimes a top priority in Liberia.
The response from the girl's family sent a second and equally stunning shockwave through their Phoenix, Arizona, community: "The parents felt that they had been shamed or embarrassed by their child," reported Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill.
As a result, the girl was taken into custody by Arizona's child welfare agency.
The prosecutor who charged the four boys called the crime "heartrending" and "deeply disturbing." But to those familiar with Liberia, the west African nation where the families of all of the children are from, the crime and response are both part of a sadly familiar story.
"It's something that happens every day in every community in Liberia," said Tania Bernath, a researcher for the human rights group Amnesty International...After the Phoenix attack, a 23-year-old sister of the victim told a reporter that her sister was "bringing confusion" after the assault was discovered by a neighbor. She said that she wanted the suspects to be released from jail because "we are the same people" and that her sister would be ostracized by others in the Liberian community for being a rape victim.
(CNN) -- The allegation is shocking: an 8-year-old girl lured to a storage shed with the promise of chewing gum, pinned down and sexually assaulted by four boys, none of them older than 14.
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has made cracking down on sex crimes a top priority in Liberia.
The response from the girl's family sent a second and equally stunning shockwave through their Phoenix, Arizona, community: "The parents felt that they had been shamed or embarrassed by their child," reported Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill.
As a result, the girl was taken into custody by Arizona's child welfare agency.
The prosecutor who charged the four boys called the crime "heartrending" and "deeply disturbing." But to those familiar with Liberia, the west African nation where the families of all of the children are from, the crime and response are both part of a sadly familiar story.
"It's something that happens every day in every community in Liberia," said Tania Bernath, a researcher for the human rights group Amnesty International...After the Phoenix attack, a 23-year-old sister of the victim told a reporter that her sister was "bringing confusion" after the assault was discovered by a neighbor. She said that she wanted the suspects to be released from jail because "we are the same people" and that her sister would be ostracized by others in the Liberian community for being a rape victim.
