babble » blogs » Strollerderby
Strollerderby
11-Year-Old in Cleveland, TX Abused On More Than One Occasion
The story of the 11-year-old sexually assaulted in tiny Cleveland, TX continues to unfold.
The horrific story of the 11-year-old girl in Cleveland, TX who was gang raped in November continues to unfold. Though a gag order was recently approved in the case, preventing the accused, the victim and both the prosecution and defense from speaking to the media, shocking new details are still being gathered from court documents. According to News Talk 670 KBOI, the victim may have been sexually assaulted more than once by some of the suspects over a period of four months.
Court documents obtained by the Cleveland Advocate suggest that “four of the defendants have been charged with a more serious felony of continuous sexual abuse of a child because they are accused of assaulting the girl on two or more dates.” The alleged assaults occurred between Sept. 15 and Dec. 1. Only four of the 18 defendants remain in jail; 17 pleaded not guilty to the crime. One of the defendants who is not currently in jail has another sexual assault case pending.
This unbelievable turn of events has stirred racial tensions in Cleveland and the resulting news coverage has been widely criticized. The New York Times apologized for its initial coverage of the story, saying it “lacked balance” and didn’t give proper attention to the concerns of the victim. This week, Florida Republican Kathleen Passidomo co-opted the victim’s tragedy to push for the passage of the so-called “sagging pants bill” that would require a dress code in Florida schools. While discussing the bill’s merits, Passidomo said:
There was an article about an 11-year-old girl who was gang raped in Texas by 18 young men because she was dressed like a 21-year-old prostitute. And her parents let her attend school like that. And I think it’s incumbent upon us to create some areas where students can be safe in school and show up in proper attire so what happened in Texas doesn’t happen to our students.
Attention-grabbing headlines continue to appear surrounding this case, like the one I read this morning in ColorLines Magazine: “After Cleveland, Texas: Eight Ways Black Men Can Fight Rape.” Given the way the media has covered this case thus far, I expected to read another article sympathizing with the accused, suggesting ways black men could fight rape allegations. Instead I found a really insightful analysis of rape culture by Akiba Solomon, an African-American woman who says she stands in solidarity with both the victim and “with black people who are disproportionately criminalized and have suffered all matter of hell due to false accusations.”
You should read her entire piece, and this piece she’s responding to by Dr. L’Heureux Dumi Lewis about sexual violence, but I’ll quote a few passages here where I think Solomon gets to the heart of the matter when it comes to victim-blaming. She writes:
Then we have to seriously consider the power of stereotypes. On one side you have people suggesting that the 11-year-old was presenting herself as older, which plays directly into the hot-blooded Latina stereotype. They’ve portrayed her as sexually insatiable, which means she’s not a victim but a predator.
And regarding the victim’s mother:
“People have asked about the victim’s mother. But if we’re going to ask about parenting, our first question should be, ‘Where were the boys’ and young men’s parents?’ Questioning the girl’s parents also assumes that families have the ability to stop bad things from happening. The truth is, bad things happen to kids who are well-parented. The more we make parenting a magic bullet, the less we concentrate on using our resources to heal hurt folks so they don’t hurt others.
Sources: 670 KBOI, Cleveland Advocate, Raw Story
Related Posts :
Go Back To Strollerderby
15 Comments
Erin Judge commented on Mar 19 11 at 11:35 amAlso, just for the record, it is NOT legal to gang-rape a 21 year old prostitute.
Jennifer Myszkowski commented on Mar 19 11 at 12:25 pmEverything I’ve read about this story fills me with rage. And it’s clear that these people with their “pull up your pants” philosophy have no idea what sexual abuse is all about. As a person who was sexually abused as a child, I can say with surety that at no point did my corderoy jumper ever say, “Hey, look at me! I’m so sexy!” And even if that girl were dressed as alleged, that doesn’t make gang rape okay ever. If she were 21 or 35, gang rape is gang rape. This story hurts me in my heart region.
Toiyb commented on Mar 19 11 at 1:09 pmAfrican Americans do not accept responsibility for their crimes.
Suzanne commented on Mar 19 11 at 4:29 pmWhat part of this isn’t understood?
Sex with anyone under 18 is a crime, consentual or not. All rapists, be they black, brown, white, or purple should be convicted and imprisoned. Defending criminals by claiming racism is amoral.
epayroll commented on Mar 19 11 at 4:58 pmI can say with surety that at no point did my corderoy jumper ever say, “Hey, look at me! I’m so sexy!” And even if that girl were dressed as alleged, that doesn’t make gang rape okay ever. epayroll
amina commented on Mar 20 11 at 4:43 amThese type of comment blaming the victims are why child molesters get away with their crimes. These guys were sick and it is a good chance that they have done this many times before.A guy just doesn’t wake up and commit this type of act out of the blue. They are so stupid they did not even consider the AIDS issue.
Sharon commented on Mar 20 11 at 12:25 pmTo be progressive, society has to go beyond any form of prejudice and unjust judgements. That not only includes prejudice against African-Americans, but also against women. This isn’t the age of the scarlet “A” or is it? In a time where good people fight for equality, it is disheartening that such an inexcusable offense toward a young girls can result in victim blame and a greater tragedy that the victim blame is toward a child. What a woman wears is never the issue in rape. And a child can not consent. This is child abuse and child rape. It should be condemned by all and those who don’t condemn it are promoting child abuse and child rape. They too should be guilty of a crime.
voice in the dark commented on Mar 20 11 at 8:04 pmi don’t care if that young lady was walking stark naked down the middle of main street at high noon there is nothing that justifys rape.if you are a man you don’t have to force a woman but than again these are obviously low life worms who can’t get a woman the old fashion way.to rep katheen passidomo the republican (what a surprise) shame on you if it had been your daughter you being screaming for the death penalty.there is no such thing as SHE WAS ASKING FOR IT.
Cartagena 187 commented on Mar 21 11 at 1:50 amTheir day is coming, even the young ones. If a monkey is being bad, you bury that monkey.
Jenna commented on Mar 21 11 at 2:21 pmAt first I was stunned to read about this. Then I read that it took place in Texas. That’s where George Bush came from. All of a sudden it made sense. People from Texas are not civilized.
marco commented on Mar 21 11 at 4:19 pmNo wonder the hispanics get treated the way they do in society, just like a second class citizen. With the bias coverage this young abused child has been given should be of concern to all ethnicities regardless of race. The news oulets should be ashame of them self they are acting like Obama when he accuse the police of abusing his friend before reading into the facts. Instead of putting the blame to the 11 year old child find the cause how 18 black man coerced a young innocent child to be rape the way she did. What kind of parents do they have to behave the way they did I hope they are not animals.
TF commented on Mar 22 11 at 10:49 amFirst off, not where were HER parents, but where were the BOYS’ parents? Who the h#$% thinks they have the right to blame the victim? Should she have to wear a burqa in order to be safe? No, these boys should be taught that if a girl is wearing a burqa or bikini, he has to respect her. Even more, what kind of perverted 20+ yr old guy thinks it’s ok to sleep with an 11 yr old, let alone gang rape her and videotape it? Parents, did you teach your boys values? If so, I’m sorry that they turned out as complete losers. If not, then what right do you have to blame the girls? In terms of race, how does it change anything? They could’ve all been blue, they should’ve known it was wrong. Even the 14 yr old, sorry boy but by 14 yrs old you should know the basics… don’t steal, kill, or rape. I’d be asking his parents why he didn’t know these things. It’s not about the girl being a Latina, unfortunately it’s about the girl being a girl. Rape is often blamed on women… “she was dressing too provocatively…” How the h#$* does that even apply to an 11 yr old??? Remember the days when an 11 yr old could wear a short skirt or run around the neighborhood in her bathing suit? Remember when you could get into your older sister’s make-up and jewelry without being called a prostitute and gang raped? Oh, how I miss the good old days… Pathetic, people. Oh, and I’m from San Antonio… better than being from Chicago, if you get my drift. ;)
Linda, the original one commented on Mar 22 11 at 1:48 pmI don’t know. I want to know where ALL the parents were. It’s like this Lord of Flies town where all the young people have turned feral. Just complete cultural dysfunction from every direction.
angela luna commented on Mar 25 11 at 4:43 pmlook all these people that keep making these racial commits are just a bad as the people convict crimes because your are being racist is doesnt matter that they were all black or all hispanic or all white men are men and women are women, kids are kids and thats it. none of yall have any right to judge any of the persons in this situation because you dont know what happen all you know is what you see and hear. and clearly you all are still immature yourselves if you can say what everybody else says and what you think is the right thing to say instead of saying what need to be said. i know its not right to rape women especially children at that. but its not right either to have young girls asking for sex from different guys at different times or all at once either. and just because its texas doesnt mean anything either there is rape and killing everywhere in this world and you cant see that then that you should look around and come back to reality….
Angela commented on Jul 25 11 at 5:46 pmI have a varied opinion in this subject. On one hand, she allowed this to happen to her body without so much as a scream or cry for help. I remember when I was 11 and knew fully well what I was doing (not the repercussions mind you). Then on the other hand, where was the parental supervision?? I think there are three responsible sides here. The parents should be charged with neglect, the men for their rolls in this and the girl should be brought up on solicitation. It seems everybody is at fault here and its a very sad situation.
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Lori Garcia 
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
15