Thursday, October 29, 2009

What do YOU think?


Something has been on my mind and I figured I may as well bring it to the blog.


Yesterday, I read a news article about a 15 year old girl who was gang raped at her homecoming dance. She left the dance early and was waiting on her dad when a group asked her to join them for a few drinks in the school courtyard. She went with them, probably expecting a fun time. Instead, what she got was 2 1/2 hours of sheer torture. The full story here.


I'm sickened by this. Even more so by the fact that there were over 2 dozen students who stood and watched and cheered as this poor little girl was beaten, robbed, and repeatedly raped. The assailants AND the onlookers reportedly took pictures and even videos with their cell phones. By the time the police found her she was unconscious and they were still raping her!


There's no question these individuals should fry for what they've done. My question is, should the ones cheering, taking pictures, and doing absolutely nothing to help be punished as well? The California law states that if you see a sex crime being commited to a person 14 and under, and you don't report it, you could face criminal charges. This girl is 15, which means all those people who took joy in her suffering get to move on with their lives, happy as clams. This makes me sick! The entire thing makes me want to keep my daughters closer than ever!


What do you think? Should doing NOTHING be a crime?
Also, take a moment today and send this girl some healing thoughts and prayers. She needs them.

16 comments:

Terri H said...

This breaks my heart for that poor baby girl, and I think anyone who walked by and didn't do anything to help her should be punished. If they were afraid of the attackers, they could have just called 911. Maybe she would have been rescued sooner. What is going on with some of our kids, when they think this is okay? I just hope she can have some kind of healing and live a happy life in spite of this horror.

housemouse88 said...

Hello,

Unfortunately, in our society people don't want to get involved in any crime they see going on. I feel all the students who where at the scene of the crime should be punished in some way. My question is where were the chaperones of the dance. Was no one watching the outside as well as the inside of the dance? If this has happened once, I wonder if it has happened in the past and no one reported it. My heart goes out to this girl and her family. Having a family member who was a victim of rape, I can only say this is only the beginning of her ordeal. She will need love and support for years to come. I wish this didn't happen in our society. You have to wonder the one's to commit this horrible offense, where were their parents and what do they think?

BrennaLyons said...

Absolutely, they should be punished. Every last one of them. Like Terri said, they could have called 911 anonymously and said, "It's happening. Please, help her." That would have been enough.

People stopped teaching empathy and personal responsibility and a sense of community, and that's beyond sad into criminal.

Brenna

Anne Rainey said...

Terri--From what I'm reading this area is loaded down with crime. Maybe now that they're getting national attn, something will be done!

housemouse--Yes, I always wonder, 'what the hell do their parents think??' Do they even care?

Brenna--From the report, it seems one girl did call 911, after hearing two of the little bastards bragging about what they'd done. Good for her! At least one child out of the bunch was raised right!

Regina said...

I don't know how you could make it a law to have a conscience, but it is morally wrong. It just goes to show the moral decay of our society. My son is a Deputy and he says that he sees it more and more at an earlier age and we all see and hear it when we're out in public and have to listen to the vulgarity of the teens who've been allowed to run wild, no matter the social standing. But it all begins at home, they live what they learn!

Anne Rainey said...

Regina--I was just telling my husband last night that my heart also goes out to the officers first on the scene. The things they're forced to witness. It can't be an easy job. Then knowing some of those assholes wonn't even be punished for what they've done must make the job that much tougher!

BrennaLyons said...

Actually, what bothers me about the report is that it says several people called with tips about it. If several did, and it took 2 1/2 fricken hours, where were the cops? Did no one call until more than two hours in? Or were the earlier "tips" dismissed? It wouldn't be the first time.

Look at the woman in NY who was raped many times over DAYS by a neighbor who grabbed her out of the hall and shoved her into his apartment. The neighbors called the police repeatedly and said she was kidnapped and being raped...they could hear her screaming for help, and no cops showed up for three days or so. Why?

Not excusing the kids who watched and took pictures and such, but sometimes the police don't do what they are supposed to, either.

Brenna

Anne Rainey said...

Also, I want to note that part of the reason I posted about this today is to spread the word about what happened to this girl. The more people outraged, the more chances it WON'T be swept under the rug!

She deserves to see her tormentors behind bars!

Regina said...

I'm not defending the law enforcement because my son is one, but a lot of the time the media gets the facts wrong, so don't automatically believe what they write. People lie to the police and impede investigations and there is only so much they can do without steeping on someones rights. Sad situation all around! It's very disheartening to the officers, too. Lock 'em up and their out before their done with the paperwork.

Kelley Nyrae said...

Yes! It should be against the law and people should be punished if they see a crime, especially one like this one and don't report it. This just breaks my heart. What's wrong with people?

Unknown said...

I believe all those kids should pay for watching, taking pictures, etc. My heart breaks for this poor girl. I just don't understand kids these days. To think watching a girl get beat and raped is fun? It sickens me.

Cassie Exline said...

Horrible, horrible ordeal for that poor girl. Breaks my heart. I also want to keep my daughter closer to me. Hope those onlookers have nightmares for the rest of their lives.

BrennaLyons said...

No offense intended to you, Regina. I understand where you're coming from... But, the case I'm talking about went up to the Supreme Court, I believe. I'll see if I can come up with the link for it over the weekend. The calls to the police were logged. They WERE called, in the case I'm talking about. We don't know if they actually were in this other case.

And that's not the only cases of it. There are some places in, for instance, Chicago that I'm told the police do not respond at night reliably. I'm sure most police officers mean well, but not all of them do what we hope they will when we're in danger.

And that's not even getting into some of the good ole boys club shenanigans I've seen small town cops get up to. Oy! And I don't mean the south here, where I can generally count on the police most days. A small town in SW MA was the worst I've seen so far.

Brenna

Regina said...

Oh, no offense taken. I'm aware of the good and bad, plus I'm from a small town originally where it was who you knew so I do understand. Somethings never change, I just hope this young girl gets justice and heals!

Jake - but not the one said...

Anne, it is a major change in the philosophy the undergirds our law to start to criminalize NOT doing something. Where does that end? If you could have done something 2 years ago that would have prevented someone dying, are you now responsible? There are certain kinds of actions that are required, and you can become an accomplice to the criminal act if you know of the act and do nothing to report it. Hopefully, that kind of law will apply here.

Jake

Moran V said...

Doing NOTHING in a this circumstance is a crime and I would love to see the kids spending some time in jail- in my opinion doing nothing to prevent a crime is as bad as doing the crime and what does it say about the kids that did nothing- they can easily be the one raping and beating the next time.
We live in a very very sad and cruel world if kids can cheer and take picture while a 15 year old girl is being raped.
I don't live in the US so I can't say I know the youth there but where I live the teenagers are not any better and crime will always be a big problem everywhere and I think the only way to reduce crime is by punishing the people who committed the crime and the people that took part of it even if by "only" watching for the side and not preventing it.
I just wander who raise those kids and how their parents can look at their kids and not be sick to their stomachs!!!! It's very scary to thing that people become so numb they just don't care about other people's suffering.
I just hope that the guys who raped the poor girl will be locked away for life and they won't have some attorney getting them free for some technicality.