15-Year-Old Girl Gang-Raped at Homecoming While Others Cheer: How Does This Happen?
I wish I could say this was an unimaginable crime. But it’s real.
Five – out of as many as 10 – young men between the ages of 15 and 19 could appear in a Richmond, Calif. court as early as today after allegedly gang-raping a 15-year-old girl at a homecoming dance for more than two hours last weekend. The victim was apparently beaten, robbed and raped in a secluded area while the dance went on nearby.
That’s bad enough. This young girl’s life has been hijacked, violated and changed forever because of the violent, sick actions of a group of boys. But the story doesn’t stop there. Apparently as many as 20 other students stood by, watched, cheered and even took pictures as the girl was raped.
Watched. Cheered. Took pictures.
As a 15-year-old girl was beaten and raped.
No one called for help.
How does this happen? How can it be that no one in the crowd felt uncomfortable witnessing such brutality? How can it be that no one slipped away to find a teacher, tell a security guard, or call 911?
The boys – I hesitate to call them men, even though they are so far being charged as adults – will be dealt with. Five are in custody, more are being investigated, and authorities are offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of any of the assailants, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. If convicted, some could spend life in prison. That might be enough time for them to regret their actions.
But the bystanders cannot be held responsible. In California it’s a crime to not report a sex crime happening to a child 14 and younger, but this victim is 15. There’s no recourse.
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The "bystander effect" and "mob mentality" may have played a role, but I think there's a much simpler explanation than that. I'd bet that some of the perpetrators were gang members, and witnesses feared that if they told, or even returned to the gym building where the authorities were, some "friends" would find them and give them the same treatment that they gave this poor girl.
Although I can't say with certainty, and evidence may very well come forward to prove me wrong, but I would even speculate that the witnesses who didn't take part stood silent in shock, while the individuals taking photos and cheering were in fact the perpetrators who were standing by waiting their "turn".
So all the studies explain it and the law prevents prosecution of the bystanders. Well that just takes care of everythng doesnt it? If anything, the mob did nothing because they never felt responsible... they enjoyed it. As a parent I have come upon some really brutal visual games, cartoon shows, porn sites etc. that I believe many kids have access to and may watch routinely. My own children's response to watching such a brutal violent cartoon show was "hey we know it isnt real" but I am concerned that it desensitizes the senses. To those people who desensetize them selves was this any different than the shows, the games the imagery they allow themselves to see on a routine basis. I think not and that is unfortunate. When what we see entertains us to the point we cant discern the real deal from a game or a show, then it is tragic.
I completely agree. As a teacher it appalls me to see students playing these horrible games. Violence is not entertainment and when we turn violence into entertainment we get instances such as this -- where no one does anything as a young girl is brutalized.
Actually, this is not the case. That myth was started up by the Over Protective Parental Society of America (aka Catholics).
Sure there have been studies that so called "prove" that violent games have adverse effects on players, but there are also counter studies that prove if the child was raised correctly and had his morals installed correctly when they were being raised that exposure to violent games and media will not have any effect on them.
Most of these studies use already mentally questionable subjects who have a bad home environment in which the parents are not strict enough with rules and teaching life's lessons to their children.
I can offer up myself as a resource for postulating that viloent media doesnt make viloent people.
I started playing FPS (First Person Shooter) games like Half-life and Golden Eye, fighting games, Grand Theft Auto, Need for Speed, and Resident Evil when I was 11. I do not and probably will not own a gun and don't believe that guns are useful to civilians.
I have never been in a fight or been arrested. I have never gotten a speeding ticket or anything.
These games had no influance on me because my praents did what they were supposed to do.
Anytime you see a violent action based upon a game, thats a parent that did not do their nature given job. It is the parents job to protect their children from what they do not think is good for them, not the government, or other third-party.
It's like blaming the makers of a machine gun used in a war for killing your child when he or she was killed by terrorists or some other opposing force.
Or over the counter chemical makers if their products are used in the making of a bomb.
Its passing the responsibility for the actions of the parents to the game makers.
I'm sorry to hear that "not one single person " in 2 1/2 hours did NOTHING!!! MOB MENTALITY? Are you serious? Why are we making excuse's for these BYSTANDER'S ? I'm in an area in PHILADELPHIA that has Drugs and Crime I've witnessed people stab other's and do things that are unheard of BUT I WILL NOT STAND BY and allow some one to be injured ....Those are( choices )that we and HUMANS make every day in our DAILY LIVES....I think everyone who sent a picture or a text message shoul be charged with SOMETHING...HOW ABOUT SOME TYPE OF COMMUNITY SERVICE.....ARE PARENT'S NOT TEACHING THEIR CHILDREN MORELS?....
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