Boys Charged in 8 year old Liberian Girl's Rape Appear in Court (288 hits)
PHOENIX (AP) — The two youngest boys charged in the rape last month of an eight-year-old Liberian girl were ordered Wednesday to remain in juvenile detention with restricted visitors, as Liberia's deputy ambassador to the U.S. arrived in town hoping to speak to them. At separate hearings during which one of the young defendants openly wept, judges ordered that no one be allowed to interview the nine-year-old boys without the permission of their lawyers, court-appointed advocates and Child Protective Services.
Both lawyers indicated they would advise the boys not to speak to the deputy ambassador, Edwin Sele, who arrived in Phoenix on Wednesday afternoon for a weeklong fact-finding mission and to help dispel notions that rape is condoned in the West African country. He said during a news conference that he still hopes to interview the four boys despite the hurdles ahead of him. "I'm sure we can speak to CPS and find ways to do this legally," said Sele, who was asked to visit Phoenix by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Sele said he wants the boys to know that being innocent until proven guilty is a hallmark of the U.S. justice system and that he also wants to meet with the eight-year-old girl to tell her that all Liberians extend their love to her.
During the alleged July 16 attack, police say the nine-year-old boys and two teenagers lured the girl to an empty storage shed with the promise of chewing gum, restrained her and took turns raping her. A 14-year-old has been charged as an adult, and prosecutors are seeking to charge a 13-year-old as an adult, as well. One of the nine-year-old boys, whose ankles and wrists were shackled during Wednesday's hearing, slouched in his oversized chair and was expressionless until Judge Aimee Anderson spoke directly to him. "I will tell you I'm very proud of you for being back there and working so hard," she said as she held up a certificate that his juvenile facility had given him for good behavior. "I know it's not easy and pretty hard to make friends in there ... Hang in there, okay? As she spoke, tears poured down his face and his sniffles could be heard over a courtroom microphone.
Anderson granted prosecutors' request to change two of the boy's charges from s*xual assault to s*xual conduct. He also is charged with kidnapping. Minutes later at a separate hearing, the nine-year-old charged in the case sat quietly and looked around curiously from time to time. Judge Dawn Bergin ordered that his s*xual assault charge be changed to s*xual conduct, also at prosecutors' request...
