Toddler Raped, But Her Attackers Shouldn't Be Punished

[Liberal_in_LA]

Toddler Raped, But Her Attackers Shouldn't Be Punished

A toddler was raped, but as horrific as the thought is, those who raped her shouldn't be punished. You see, her attackers were just boys -- 7- and 9-year-old boys who shouldn't even know what rape is. Someone is to blame, but it's not them.

It happened in Memphis this past summer. The 2-year-old victim's brother, 5, saw it occurring and told his mom. Thank goodness he did. While the boys first blamed each other, they later admitted to the crime.

The boys are due in court today where prosecutors are recommending they be removed from their families' homes and placed in state custody for treatment, not punishment. They want to determine what these boys have been exposed to that would make them do this to another child. James Sanders, the attorney defending the 9-year-old boy, told the Memphis Commercial Appeal:

http://thestir.cafemom.com/toddler/118109/toddler_raped_but_her_attackers

"Are they watching porn with big brothers and uncles? Have they been sexualized, molested?" the prosecutor said. "We're not trying to lock these kids up."

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/mar/26/boys-ages-7-and-9-admit-to-rape-of-toddler/

[digitaln3rd]

1. Heck no.

Why should they get a pass? If they're sick enough to rape a toddler, they should face the consequences - that's life.

[canetoad]

2. Let me be the first to predict

this space being replaced with 'deleted subthread'.

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. is this what leads to the deleted subthreads?

[canetoad]

7. Is that a rhetorical question?

How should I take your post? I doubt you read between the lines of mine.

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. 7, 8 and 9 year olds? Seriously?

[ohheckyeah]

4. And just what the hell would a 7 year old

and a 9 year old know about life? Of course these boys need serious professional help as does the little girl and her brother.

[SharonAnn]

6. If they've been sexually abused, that could've been the beginning for them

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

23. Gimme the details. What, exactly, should we do?

Not "tough on crime" generic platitudes, please. Details. I want details.

[walldude]

24. Hell yeah put em' in state prison

Or hang em' yeah that's even better....


You sir, are a fucking clueless asshole.

[XemaSab]

8. I think there's some kids who need to be taken away from their parents

x(

[alp227]

9. well these boys do need some punishment and learn that what they did was brutally wrong

of course they're about 5 years too young for the traditional juvenile justice system...and the supreme court recently ruled that life sentences for juveniles who commit non-homicide crimes are unconstitutional (Graham v Florida)...what answer makes sense other that they were victims of bad parenting and still have the potential to change. if anything kudos to the state for taking them away from their home. I really doubt that kids that age who grow up in a normal environment with responsible parents would do this kind of thing.

I mean what little kid doesn't hit or shove another at an early age before being told repeatedly "that's wrong"? That kind of behavior seems so much more natural than rape...which i no doubt believe they must've learned from somewhere.

[wickerwoman]

10. Some kids are born sociopathic though.

Look at Eric Harris (one of the shooters at Columbine). He wasn't abused, his parents tried to monitor his behavior. Something like 1% of people just lack all empathy. It's possible (even probable) that the 7 and 9 year olds are victims of sexual abuse and/or horrible parenting, but it's also possible that one or both of them was born without the capacity to empathize. And if that's the case, how horrible the parents must feel when it isn't really their fault.

Not enough info to judge on this one, for me anyway.

[Xithras]

11. Most of those "they must've learned it somewhere" theories fail to account for the Internet

Most, in fact, are based on psychological research that was done before the Web was invented.

Where did they learn it? Children are naturally curious, and they're bombarded with the word "sex" all day long. Go to Google, type in the word "Sex", the first result is a porn site. Click the "Videos" link up top, and turn OFF the "SafeSearch" feature. The first video is of a woman getting her anus pounded, and the second is a massive orgy with 10+ people all getting it on with each other.

This stuff isn't hidden, and any kid can find it. My now 14 year old son recently admitted to me that he first looked up porn on the Internet with a bunch of friends in the THIRD GRADE. Once upon a time, little boys offered little girls cookies on the playground to discover the difference between boys and girls. Nowadays, they just type it into Google and get their first sexual questions answered via hardcore porn.

[NashVegas]

15. Normally Curious Children Don't Rape

They also tend to stay somewhere in the range of their own peer group.

And you have to work a little harder to find the BDSM stuff.

[seabeyond]

19. video. when you have parents encouraging and teaching kids at 5

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/875745/

why wouldnt they

the rap music they are fed, the porn in the house, the everyday conversation of hittin the ho

[NashVegas]

20. I Wouldn't Say

That fits with the description of "normal."

A "normal" kid who sees that vid isn't going to begin to know how to rape a 2 YO.

[seabeyond]

22. they are normal children raised in abnormal environment. nt

[Xithras]

21. Children don't really comprehend rape the way we do.

With adults, rape tends to be a violent assertion of power or lust, and the act itself tends to be secondary to the message. "I'm bigger than you." "I'm stronger than you." "You are weak."

When young children commit these acts, their intentions are usually a bit purer (in a relative sense, anyway). Their actions are usually driven by a desire to imitate grown-ups, by curiosity, and by a desire to experience physical pleasure. More often than not, they have no comprehension of the psychological aspects, or damage, of their actions. Children are, almost by definition, too immature to understand the real consequences of their actions.

[seabeyond]

25. i saw an example of this with my youngest. at a young 12

and without a taught environment of sex and sexuality (we discuss so much in house educationally, but not entertainment of sex act thru media), he was taught about date rape (a little, too little)in the 6th grade. when he mentioned it, and an inability to grasp what it was about, i had to discuss further in a manner he could grasp it better, and still, he didnt get it the way we would want our youth to understand, because he was just not old enough or experienced or mind thought on that topic.

a year and half later, .... working on fourteen, he can understand it.

there is only so much to work with in the younger mind.

[NashVegas]

28. Children Understand the Use of Force

On an instinctual level, they understand when they're picking on a weak target that can't fight back. They understand when other children don't want to play the game they want to play. A child who will use violence upon another child is living in an unsupervised atmosphere, at best. Possibly abusive.

I want to be clear - all the porn that's out there and freely available has gotten completely out of hand. What I'm saying is, even if they were watching porn, I don't believe the likelihood that they got the idea that it was okay to force sex on someone from watching video is very high - not unless someone sat them down and specifically showed them.

[Xithras]

29. Yes, but children haven't yet made the connection between force and sex.

An angry 7 year old can ball a fist and punch someone they're mad at in a show of force or to show everyone else they're the biggest bully on the playground. It's physical violence to demonstrate status.

That odds that the same 7 year old would use sex as a tool for violence are nearly zero, because kids that age don't yet have a comprehension of the consequences and mental/social burdens that go along with sexual activity. In nearly all cases, the purpose behind sexual activity in very young children isn't to hurt the other person, but to satisfy their own curiosity or to bring themselves pleasure. Quite often, they really don't understand that they're doing potential damage, and most don't see any difference between pushing another kid down to do something sexual, and pushing another kid down to take their Twinkie.

Kids are not just small adults. Their brains work in a fundamentally different manner than our own. Our legal system needs to acknowledge that, and respond accordingly.

These boys need serious counseling. It's also important to identify the source of their sexual curiosity, and cut them off from it ASAP. Should they be in JAIL? Not for a single minute.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LadyHawkAZ]

13. It looks like the prosecutors are taking the best possible

course of action- remove them and get them treatment.

Really, we can't as a society say that an 11 year old girl is too young to consent to sex (which they are) then turn around and say that a 7 or 9 year old boy is old enough to form criminal intent (which they aren't). The "They knew it was wrong lock 'em up!" comments at the story links disturb me.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

16. I agree.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

14. We had a budding serial killer who was 6 years old once at the detention center I used to work at.

We kept him segregated because they were waiting on a psych bed to open elsewhere. I played games with him and kept him occupied while the other kids were in school. He freaked me out. I have seen evil and it lived in that 6 year old kid. He may not be to blame for what he did (I can't remember for sure what it was), but he certainly needed to get himself some help.
These boys that are being sent for treatment, yes they NEED TREATMENT! They are young enough to be saved if administered properly. UNFORTUNATELY, what is probably going to happen is these boys are going to stay in the system, being electroshocked, then at 18 turned loose with nothing else for them. They'll be next to illiterate and probably start a mass killing spree when they hit the streets. Lack of funding will be the downfall of two boys who can be saved, but won't because those corporations need billions to "create jobs."
Duckie

[Ilsa]

26. I agree with you. They are still young enough to be taught, and they need to be in a

Safe environment. Let's hope they get what they need and that the toddler is healed as well.

[raccoon]

17. I wouldn't be surprised at all to hear that those boys have been sexually abused.

However it is, I hope they get the help they need.

[seabeyond]

18. from the crap in society fed to kids, and the kids ages, mental development

they are clueless to what they did and the horrors of it.

makes me sick.

outta home and treatment is what i think, also.

[Marrah_G]

27. They learn it from siblings and parents...........

check out this happy little child's birthday party......

http://oddculture.com/weird-news-stories/videos-show-little-kids-bumping-and-grinding-at-party/

Caution- its disturbing as hell.