Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
One teen arrested in assault shown over Facebook
CHICAGO — Chicago police have identified two of several teen suspects who they say participated in the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl that was broadcast live on Facebook.
One of the suspects, a 14-year-old, was arrested Saturday and is facing felony charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault, manufacturing of child pornography and dissemination of child pornography. Police have not arrested the other suspect, a 15-year-old, but authorities have issued a warrant.
Police are trying to identify others, including one adult male, who took part in the assault, but officials said the investigation has been complicated by the victim’s trauma.
“She’s just having such a difficult time even communicating what occurred to her,” Cmdr. Brendan Deenihan of the Chicago Police Department said at a news conference Sunday. “We obviously have a video of the incident, so we have verifiable objective evidence of what occurred to this young lady, but she’s just having a very difficult time.
“On top of it, there’s constant social media … bullying [of the victim], making fun of what occurred,” Deenihan said. “This is just a very traumatic incident.”
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said city officials and the Cook County state attorney’s office have relocated the girl and her family to a “safe place” because of threats and taunts, but he declined to elaborate.
The girl had stayed over with family the evening of March 18, gone to church with them the next day, and then was dropped off near home before disappearing on March 19. She was found on the street on March 21 and taken to a hospital. Sometime during the time she was missing, she was lured into a residence and sexually assaulted. In the Facebook Live video, the girl was sexually assaulted by as many as six attackers.
“From there, she was not allowed to leave and she didn’t consent to what occurred,” Deenihan said, adding that the victim knew one of the suspects.
Investigators were alerted the following day when the girl’s mother approached Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson at a local precinct and showed him screenshot images from the video.
One of the girl’s relatives said a teenager told him about the Facebook Live video. The girl’s mother was shown the screenshots and was able to identify her daughter.
The victim’s family told police that as many as 40 people watched the live video without calling 911. Police contacted Facebook, and the video was taken down.
Deenihan said there were multiple cellphone videos made of the attack, and investigators are still combing through social media posts to identify the other suspects.
“The young men responsible — they should ashamed of themselves,” Johnson said. “They’ve humiliated themselves. They’ve humiliated their families. And now they’re going to be held accountable for what they did.
“It just disgusts me that people would look at those videos and not pick up the phone and dial 911,” he added. “It makes you wonder: Where are we going as a society?”
This is the second time in less than six months that Chicago police have investigated an attack broadcast live on Facebook.