Every morning, I open my Google News page to see what is happening in the world. As I was scanning the headlines, this one caught my attention: "11-Year-Old Girl Gang-Raped by 18 Men in Texas." I was horrified. I have a 10 year old niece, and the idea that anyone would do this to a child mortified me.
It wasn't enough that these "men" (and I use that term loosely as they range in age from middle schoolers to 27) raped this child in two seperate locations. They took photos and videotaped the assault. The assault, which happened in November, came to the attention of authorities after one of the little girls schoolmates saw the video and reported it to a teacher. As I read the article, the writer was commenting on how the media especially the New York Times had been treating the event. It appeared that most articles appeared to be blaming the little girl for what happened to her.
Blame her? Most, if not all, of the "men" are African-American. One is a star basketball player for the local high school. One is a middle school student. Some have records including the 19 year old who lured the girl into his car in the first place. Here is my problem. I'm all for defending your family members, but folks, to come out and blame this child for what happened to her is monstrous. They are accusing the girl of acting too old for her age, and where was her mom letting her visit the area where the assault took place. Excuse, me? 17-18 men raped and videotaped this, and you are blaming her?! She is 11!!
I have taught 12 year olds. They are all experimenting. They think they are adults at times, but they are no where near mature enough to make those types of decisions. This is a child. No child would decide to have consensual sex with 18 men. I don't care if she was tarted up and wearing one of Beyonce's costumes down the street. She is a child. These "men" made the decision to lure her into their car, force her to disrobe and have sex with them. They then called other men to partake. This to me is unforgivable. How does anyone get this idea in their head? What was the thinking that went into this? None, I imagin. A child, a fellow human being...She has had to be placed in a safe house away from her family. Her family is receiving threats from people who want to find their daughter.
I know everyone is innocent until proven guilt. This little girl had her innocence stripped away from her. I hope all involved are punished to the fullest extent of the law. Yes, I know that their "choices" will follow them the rest of their life. It should. They made the decision to perform this horrific act. I am mostly concerned however with the little girl. This is a trauma that will follow her all of her life. Her family says she is doing well in her new school. I hope she is getting the counseling she will need, and my prayers and wishes go out to her and her family. I hope the truth will prevail.
"Time is precious, but truth is more precious than time."~Benjamin Disraeli
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