Police have arrested a 14-year-old boy in connection to a brutal sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl that was streamed via Facebook Live and watched by dozens last month. ABC7 reports that the arrest is one of several more to come, including five teens and one of their adult relatives.
“They should be ashamed of themselves. They’ve humiliated themselves, humiliated their families, and now they’re going to be held accountable for what they did,” said Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson.
The girl’s family reported her missing on Sunday, March 19. On Monday, her uncle Reginald King saw at least six people assaulting her in a Facebook Live stream. She had been lured into the home one of the attackers.
None of the people watching the broadcast called 911. The Chicago Tribune reported that activist Andrew Holmes showed police the video, and then the victim’s mother—who had filed a missing person’s report—identified her daughter in the screenshots. The family was reunited on Tuesday, a day after the attack.
“It just disgusts me that people would look at those videos and not pick up the phone and dial 911,” said Johnson. “It makes you wonder where are we going, what are we doing as a society that people would actually look at those crimes taking place and not pick up the phone.”
ABC7 reports that the boy, who will appear in juvenile court on Monday, faces felony aggravated criminal sexual assault, manufacturing child pornography and dissemination of child pornography.
Meanwhile, police have relocated the girl and her family. In addition to the severe emotional and physical trauma of the attack, she’s also dealing with online harassment. WBEZ reports that Police Commander Brendan Deenihan said that people are “making fun of the victim” with “a lot of off color comments” on social media.
“Detectives, working with the State’s Attorneys, did several interviews with this victim but she’s having a very, very difficult time even talking about it,” he said.
Update (2:12 pm EST): ABC7 reports that a second suspect, a 15-year-old boy, has been arrested.
