On Sunday, March 19th, a fifteen-year-old girl was dropped along with her home street address in Chicago but did not make it back.
The girl, whose name was not released to the public because she is a minor, is said to have been lured away by one of her attackers the evening her mother reported her missing.
About one day later, a video of the girl being sexually assaulted was streamed live on Facebook. Police said that forty people saw the video, but not one of them called the authorities to report the incident. On March 21st the girl was found and then checked into a hospital for treatment by the police, and on Sunday, April 2nd one boy was taken into police custody in connection with the assault.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed that the fourteen-year-old boy who had been arrested was one of the attackers. Speaking to the press on Sunday, Guglielmi said, “The boy who has been arrested is one of the attackers in the video.” Guglielmi added that the boy was being charged with several felony counts including aggravated sexual assault, production and the distribution of child pornography. He also stated that the boy was only one of five to six attackers, and that warrants for the arrest of the other assailants had been issued. Police expect more arrests to be made soon.
‘Offenders should be ashamed of themselves.’
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson was also available for comment. Johnson had been approached by the girl’s other outside the West Side Precinct after the girl was recovered. It was the girl’s mother who showed Johnson the video of the rape. Guglielmi reported that Johnson was ‘shocked’ and ‘upset’ over what was done to the girl. Johnson commented, “What happened to that girl should never have to happen to anyone.” Johnson also said that the perpetrators should be ashamed of themselves and for the embarrassment they had brought upon their families.
Detective Commissioner Brendan Deenihan reiterated that the girl had indeed identified one of her attackers. Deenihan remarked that the boy had lured her into a house where the other male offenders were waiting. “Once there, “Deenihan said, “the girl was forcefully prevented from leaving. Anything that took place thereafter was therefore not with her consent.”
Deenihan added a statement delineating that the investigation was still ongoing albeit from different avenues. One approach the investigators were using was to try and get the girl to help them. Police noted, however, that this option was difficult to pursue as the girl was traumatized. Deenihan’s statement additionally outlined that the police were also going through social media looking for any signs of the rest of the offenders. It was not clear whether or not the forty who had streamed the video would be prosecuted.
After the incident, the girl and her family relocated. Deenihan said the girl would most likely need help in future to deal with the occurrence and the online bullying that she underwent after she was found. The incident was the second violent one to have been uploaded to Facebook this year, and Facebook responded by saying it would ‘shut down all videos glorifying violence from now on.’
The truth of that remains to be seen and a question Johnson asked during his conference remains. “Where are we going in society?”
