Prosecutors struggle with case in which preteen boys raped 11-year-old girl

Prosecutors are said to be unsure how to proceed with an unusual rape case in which four boys, ages 11 to 13, are suspected of raping an 11-year-old girl.

The incident took place three months ago. The boys filmed their assault and shared it with friends, according to police. In the videos, the boys can be seen holding the girl at knifepoint as they rape her.

One of the videos from the attack reached the girl’s father, who turned to police.

Police summoned the boys, who were interrogated by specially trained youth officers, and handed its evidence to the state prosecution.

The case is sensitive because of special laws protecting children suspected of serious crimes.

In an interview earlier today with Army Radio, the girl’s father says his family is now being threatened by one of the suspects’ brothers. “While they walk free we get a phone call from one of the boy’s brothers threatening to hurt my family, my wife and kids, to throw a grenade at our house,” the father says.

Choking up, he tells the radio station the videos show “three youths that one after another commit sexual assault, rape and threatening with a knife.”

He says his daughter “still feels that she’s at fault. We’re trying to tell her it wasn’t her fault. She’s in post-trauma. Social services don’t want to release her home yet, as if she was attacked in our home. But nothing at all is being done to those boys.”

The girl’s identity and city of residence are being withheld to protect her privacy.