Amanda Lee Myers
August 5th, 2009
More adult charges sought in Ariz. child rape case
PHOENIX — An Arizona prosecutor wants to charge a second child as an adult in the alleged rape of an 8-year-old Liberian girl at a Phoenix apartment complex.
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas announced Tuesday that his office filed a motion Monday to transfer the case to adult court. Prosecutors must get court permission to charge anyone younger than 14 as an adult.
Police say four boys, ages 9 to 14, lured the girl to an empty storage shed July 16 with the promise of chewing gum, restrained her and took turns raping her. The 14-year-old already has been charged as an adult while the younger boys are charged as juveniles.
The 13-year-old boy’s attorney, Joseph Ramiro-Shanahan, said he hadn’t yet read the motion and could not comment on it.
The boy’s father declined to comment Tuesday after he was approached outside his west Phoenix apartment.
Currently, the boy, who is from Liberia, is being charged in juvenile court with sexual assault and kidnapping. Ramiro-Shanahan successfully requested a competency hearing in juvenile court on his behalf, saying that his client didn’t receive any education while he lived with his grandmother on a farm in Liberia and later while living at a refugee camp for a number of years, according to a court document.
“He has no idea what his attorney does, no idea of what a prosecutor is, no idea what a judge is,” Ramiro-Shanahan told The Associated Press. “He can’t assist his own defense at this time.”
He said he believes a juvenile court judge has to rule on his client’s competency before he can be charged as an adult.
The 13-year-old and the other three boys, who also are from Liberia, were arrested July 21.
The 14-year-old suspect is being tried as an adult on one count each of kidnapping, sexual assault and attempted sexual conduct with a minor, and four counts of sexual conduct with a minor. His arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 10.
The 9- and 10-year-old boys have been charged in juvenile court with sexual assault; the 10-year-old also has been charged with kidnapping. Both are scheduled for review hearings Wednesday.
The case ignited an international outcry after Phoenix police reported the girl’s parents said they were ashamed of her and didn’t want her back, which led Child Protective Services to take custody of her.
The family’s pastor says the father’s statements were all a misunderstanding resulting from a language barrier and that the family desperately wants her back.
Liberians worldwide are closely watching the case, and Liberia’s deputy ambassador to the U.S., Edwin Sele, is visiting Phoenix on Wednesday to conduct a weeklong fact-finding mission and to help dispel notions that rape is condoned in the West African country.
Amanda Lee Myers
August 5th, 2009
More adult charges sought in Ariz. child rape case
PHOENIX — An Arizona prosecutor wants to charge a second child as an adult in the alleged rape of an 8-year-old Liberian girl at a Phoenix apartment complex.
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas announced Tuesday that his office filed a motion Monday to transfer the case to adult court. Prosecutors must get court permission to charge anyone younger than 14 as an adult.
Police say four boys, ages 9 to 14, lured the girl to an empty storage shed July 16 with the promise of chewing gum, restrained her and took turns raping her. The 14-year-old already has been charged as an adult while the younger boys are charged as juveniles.
The 13-year-old boy’s attorney, Joseph Ramiro-Shanahan, said he hadn’t yet read the motion and could not comment on it.
The boy’s father declined to comment Tuesday after he was approached outside his west Phoenix apartment.
Currently, the boy, who is from Liberia, is being charged in juvenile court with sexual assault and kidnapping. Ramiro-Shanahan successfully requested a competency hearing in juvenile court on his behalf, saying that his client didn’t receive any education while he lived with his grandmother on a farm in Liberia and later while living at a refugee camp for a number of years, according to a court document.
“He has no idea what his attorney does, no idea of what a prosecutor is, no idea what a judge is,” Ramiro-Shanahan told The Associated Press. “He can’t assist his own defense at this time.”
He said he believes a juvenile court judge has to rule on his client’s competency before he can be charged as an adult.
The 13-year-old and the other three boys, who also are from Liberia, were arrested July 21.
The 14-year-old suspect is being tried as an adult on one count each of kidnapping, sexual assault and attempted sexual conduct with a minor, and four counts of sexual conduct with a minor. His arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 10.
The 9- and 10-year-old boys have been charged in juvenile court with sexual assault; the 10-year-old also has been charged with kidnapping. Both are scheduled for review hearings Wednesday.
The case ignited an international outcry after Phoenix police reported the girl’s parents said they were ashamed of her and didn’t want her back, which led Child Protective Services to take custody of her.
The family’s pastor says the father’s statements were all a misunderstanding resulting from a language barrier and that the family desperately wants her back.
Liberians worldwide are closely watching the case, and Liberia’s deputy ambassador to the U.S., Edwin Sele, is visiting Phoenix on Wednesday to conduct a weeklong fact-finding mission and to help dispel notions that rape is condoned in the West African country.
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