Nassau County police dropped a case in which three ninth-grade boys allegedly sexually assaulted a 15 year-old, mentally challenged girl. The reason: the attackers have low IQs. Police said that because the girl was also mentally challenged, the act was “consensual” and “not something for us to get into.”
Daily News reported that on May 8, two boys forced the girl to perform oral sex on them and then they attempted to sodomize her as another boy banged her head.
The girl’s mother said her daughter was “quiet and very sad looking,” the night of the attack and there was blood on her underwear.
Weeks after reporting the incident, school administrators asked Nassau County police to drop the case.
The police memo read: “The school administration request (sic) no further police action and will handle additional behavioral and social issues with traning (sic) and additional counseling.”
“I’m very upset about that,” said the mother, the school . . . acted as if nothing happened.”
A lawsuit was filed against the school in Manhattan Supreme Court on January 10.
Madeline Lee Bryer, the mother’s attorney, told detectives in an hour long interview the girl’s attackers ignored her pleas of “no” and “stop.”
Nassau County Police Department spokeswoman Jean DeLuca explained why the investigation was dropped, “it was more of a consensual situation with their mental capabilities.”
DeLuca added that the police deemed the incident “more a failure to suppress these kids” on the school’s part than a crime and “It was not something you could arrest someone for.”
Those boys knew what they were doing. They knew the meaning of the words “stop” and “no” and yet they persisted. For those at the school and in law enforcement to dismiss their actions is unconscionable. I am not advocating prison time for those boys but their crime (and it was a crime) must not go unpunished. They are members of society, just like the rest of us and need to know that they cannot harm others and not be held accountable. If the boys had shot someone, they would be held accountable. If they had robbed a bank, they would be held accountable. The state of Texas has put mentally challenged people to death for committing crimes, not that that is something to be proud of, but the fact is that rape is not held to the same standards of other crimes in this country.
When American citizens brag about how much more advanced we are than other countries, it is stories like this one that give us a sobering reality check. The fact that Republicans are refusing to pass The Violence Against Women Act is an in-your-face example of the misogyny that continues to prevail in our culture. We are not as advanced as we like to believe. We need lawmakers to change the way rape is dealt with, otherwise, women will continue being treated like sexual objects to be used and tossed aside with no legal consequence.
Kimberley A. Johnson – A.K.A. The Anti Coulter is the author of The Virgin Diaries and an activist for women’s rights. Like her on Facebook, Twitter or friend her on FB HERE. Check out her campaign to raise money for her next book on Women’s Rights and The Importance Of Voting.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login