8 Year Old Faces Rape Charge!

[Marseeya]

Are you kidding? Calling the 8-year-old a victim too? Was he held at gunpoint and forced to rape this girl? Don't think so. He deserves to be punished for raping another child. Sorry, but a little accountability now and then is a good thing.

You don't need a gun to force an 8 year old to do something. I could be wrong and the kid could be a total psychopath, but most normal 8 year olds won't do something like this. The fact that there was an older teen involved just strengthens my opinion.

I knew someone who was in a similar situation. Older teen boys coerced (or whatever term you want to use) a young boy, around 7, to do things (trying to be discreet here). No, they didn't hold a gun to his head or physically force him to do it, but he was still a victim nonetheless. I also knew one of the girls involved in the whole thing -- she was a year younger than the boy. It really messed them all up pretty bad, including the boy. I can't imagine how much worse it would have been if the adults actually blamed the boy for it.

 

[Wishing on a star]

That's right Marseeya,

One of the very worst parts of situations like this (any type of child abuse...) is that the child frequently grows up just eaten alive with feelings of how they were 'responsible'. At that age, they are just children.

No WAY should a child of that age be held to blame as long as there was an adult involved.

 

[Wishing on a star]

PS: I have a son about this age. If he were involved in such a situation, I would be the first one pressing charges against the 17 year old!!!!

No way is a child this age an 'accomplice' to an adult.

 

[Mamu]

This is sad.

If the 8 year old went along I guess he's as guilty. It starts somewhere. There is just too much violence against females, they are not objects or toys, to be used against there will, then discarded. We are reading more and more of this lately and I find it very troubling

 

[In a hurry]

Of course the 8 year old is a victim, also. But he is now a perpetrator. And he is a danger to others. Prosecuting as an adult is stupid, but family court needs to be right on top of this one, because there is a darn good chance he will repeat his actions.

 

[Planogirl]

I don't think that a 17 year old is considered an adult everywhere just yet. It'll be interesting if he is prosecuted as a child too.

The 8 year old definitely needs help of some kind. A slap on the wrist would be the wrong thing too.

 

[luvdzne]

I'm sorry, I don't think an 8 year old has the mentality to do something like this on his own. It sounds like the 17 year old was probally molesting him as well. Probally the 17 year old was himself molested at some point. I think the 8 year old should not be punished, but in fact should be in counceling, letting him know what he did was wrong, helping him deal with what more than likely happened to him, and the 17 year old should be the one punished here! At 17 they more than know what they are doing is wrong!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

I don't think the 8yo knew the severity of this..maybe the 17yo threatened him...maybe this was done to him and he thought that this was "normal"

I am not saying let him off..he is going to need HEAVY counseling, but did I read it right..they are charging him as an adult? Come on!

 

[Aidensmom]

I think the 17 year old is the one to blame here. If this was the 8 year old's idea, what was the 17 year old doing helping, and why didn't he stop it? Like some others have said, the 8 year old has probably been molested himself. He was most likely coerced by the older boy to do this. A gun is not needed to intimidate an 8 year old into doing something. He needs help, and lots of it, but I don't think prosecuting him as an adult is going to help anything, it will just make things worse for his mental state.

This breaks my heart for both young children.

 

[VSL]

Just tragic really

I would think that both boys have been victims themselves in the past (as so often seems to be the case with sexual abusers). I wouldn't know what to do

Very uncomfortable.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Ok whatever. If an 8 year old boy raped your daughter, would you want him to be able to just walk away with a slap on the wrist??

True, he may have been a victim of some abuse. Ok, I will admit to that. But to NOT prosecute the kid? I'm having a very hard time understanding why everyone is feeling sorry for him. I mean he RAPED another child!

 

[andromedaslove]

Ok whatever. If an 8 year old boy raped your daughter, would you want him to be able to just walk away with a slap on the wrist??

True, he may have been a victim of some abuse. Ok, I will admit to that. But to NOT prosecute the kid? I'm having a very hard time understanding why everyone is feeling sorry for him. I mean he RAPED another child!

Whatever?! Have you ever been faced with this kind of situation? If you haven't then you have NO IDEA how you would react or what you would want to happen. My 10 year old cousin lived with my husband and I for about 3 years, before that he lived with his mother who was a drunk, and addicted to crack cocaine. He had been put through God only knows what during the years that he lived with her. When he molested my 3 yr old son I lost it ..... I had always sworn that if ANYONE ever did that to my kids I would KILL them. Unfortunately, it isn't that easy when it is a CHILD ... and to top it off a child that has been put through horrible situations himself. All I wanted to do was move him out of my home and make sure he got all the help he needed. I went to EVERY single court date with him, I stood up in front of the judge on numerous occasions in his defense, and I made sure he got the help he needs. I go with him to his therapy appointments, and I do my best to help him because that's what he needs.

No one here knows the situation with this 8 yr old boy. No one knows what that 17 yr old did to him, or did to convince him to do this. To just assume that everyone would want to throw the book at this boy if they had done this to their kid is absolutely ridiculous. This boys past definately needs to be looked into, and that 17 year old needs to be held completely responsible for what happened because no matter what he is almost an adult and KNOWS better. He was the one holding that girl down so that she COULD be raped, without him the 8 year old probably couldn't have done it if he wanted to.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I will make my last comment on this thread the best way I can. Like andromeda said, we don't know the whole story and may not for quite some time, if ever. I apologize for sounding heartless. It's just I am a BIG believer in personal accountability and don't think (with the info I have) that this kid should be unpunished. I never said he should be put to death.

 

[momof2inPA]

It's just I am a BIG believer in personal accountability and don't think (with the info I have) that this kid should be unpunished. I never said he should be put to death.

He is 8 years old. That is second grade for a lot of kids. He should be punished by his parents or the school, but not the courts. DFS should keep an eye on him and see that he gets the proper counselling and supervision, so that he doesn't end up under the influence of a 17 year old. Couldn't you possibly understand why a second grader would be afraid to disobey or unable to escape from a senior in high school?

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Momof2, you raise a good point. But what if the child did this with serious intent to harm the girl? What if it wasn't a coersion situation??

 

[Marseeya]

Momof2, you raise a good point. But what if the child did this with serious intent to harm the girl? What if it wasn't a coersion situation??

I think no matter whether it was or wasn't coercion (and I did say in my other post that he could be a psycho for all we know), that heavy duty counseling is in order. I think he needs to get out of the environment he's in and watched.

Regarding your previous question about what I'd want done if it happened to my daughter. Just sitting here in my safe little home, with my daughter unscathed, I think I would want the boy to get help and not be punished. I'd be lashing out at all the adults involved in this (especially the teen, but also the parents), but I just can't wrap my mind around an 8 year old rapist.