Dear God, no!

[deftarchangel]

I just finished reading this on the net, and it hit me really hard.  I'm not asking for words of solace or inspiration or anything like that.  I know all is of God, and He's still in control.  But it's times like these that make it really difficult to remain positive and faithful.  And I know that, as disturbing and disgusting as an incident like this is, it probably isn't an isolated one.  All I ask is for your prayers for this little girl, that the Lord's Spirit be there to comfort and strengthen her, and that God provides her with the people who will love her, care for her, and not abandon her as her family did.  As for her attackers and family, may they face the Lord's righteous judgement and fury and be broken to the point of true repentance and shame, to at last be forgiven.

It scares me how much more degenerate this world is getting.   

Anyways, please pray, and thanks.


8-year-old victim shunned by her family

Criticized and blamed her for bringing shame

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

 
PHOENIX — Officers responding to a report of hysterical screams found an 8-year-old girl partially clothed and four boys, barely in their teens, running from an empty shed. The boys, ages 9 to 14, face charges ranging from sexual assault to kidnapping, police said Thursday. Authorities in Phoenix say it's one of the most horrific cases they've ever seen.

All five children are refugees from the West African nation of Liberia.

Investigators said the boys lured the girl to an empty shed on July 16 under the pretense of offering her gum. The boys then held the girl down while they took turns raping her, police said.

"She was brutally sexually assaulted for a period of about 10 to 15 minutes," police Sgt. Andy Hill said.

The 14-year-old boy was charged Wednesday as an adult with two counts of sexual assault and kidnapping, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said. He appeared in court Thursday and was being held without bond. He does not yet have a defence lawyer.

The other boys — ages 9, 10, and 13 — were charged as juveniles with sexual assault. The 10- and 13-year-old boys also were charged with kidnapping, the office said Thursday.

"This is a deeply disturbing case that has gripped our community," Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said. "Our office will seek justice for the young victim in this heartrending situation."

The outrage over the allegations has intensified when police said the girl's parents criticized her after the attack and blamed her for bringing shame on the family.

"The father told the case worker and an officer in her presence that he didn't want her back. He said 'Take her, I don't want her,"' Hill said.

Hill cited the family's background as the reason the family shunned the girl. In some parts of Africa, women often are blamed for being raped for enticing men or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Girls who are raped often are shunned by their families.

"It's a shame-based culture, so the crime is not as important as protecting the family name and the name of the community," said Tony Weedor, a Liberian refugee in Littleton, Colorado, and co-founder of the CenterPoint International Foundation, which helps Liberians resettle in the United States.

"I just feel so sorry for this little girl," he said. "Some of these people will not care about the trauma she's going through — they're more concerned about the shame she brought on the family."

In recent years, Liberia has made efforts to combat rape under the leadership of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who has sought to dispel the stigma associated with sexual assault by publicly acknowledging that she was herself the victim of attempted rape during the country's civil war.

The girl's healing process will be particularly difficult, said Paul Penzone of Childhelp, which aids young victims of crime. Authorities said the victim was in the care of Child Protective Services.

"These four boys used what was a ploy to entice her to a place where they could take advantage of her almost like a pack of wolves," he said.

"And what's so disturbing beyond the initial crime is the fact that a child needs to have somewhere to feel safe, and you would think that would be in a home with her own family," not in state custody, Penzone said.

   

[firefly77]

Yes, you are right; it is a horrible story and my heart goes out to the little girl. I used to work for a domestic violence and sexual assault crisis center and the devastating effects it can have on the victims is truly heart wrenching. I had to quit working there after 10 years because I was questioning and distrusting every male in my life. I was trained to watch for signs and to recognize a possible perpetrator; my "antennas" were continuously working overtime. I observed dads interacting with their daughters and just waited for a "wrong" move or a touch that in my opinion was just a tad bit too "friendly". I have learned during those 10 long years that most perpetrators were victims of sexual assault and/or violence as well. These boys are still children too... What kind of future will all of them have now? Only God can really help these kids work through this trauma.
I am not making light of the incident at all and the horrific pain it caused to the little girl, and I sincerely hope this is not what you will get out of my response. I truly have the hardest time with the response of the parents. Their behavior is unbelievable. Again, only God can open their eyes to the truth. Let's pray for all of them.

[daywalker]

Wow, sad story!   

To me, people like that [her parents] are WORSE than the boys who raped her!  If you're more worried about protecting your 'family honor' than your child... you don't DESERVE children! This type of stuff really sickens me, because these are the types of kids who grow up to be real 'screwed up'. But of course, others just chalk it up to well, she has a 'free' will to not become a screw up...

My heart and prayers go out to that girl. May God provide someone to guide her and grieve with her.


Over & Out,

- Daywalker. 

[OBrenda]

 

[Ellie]

These events and the thousands like them leave me rather spechless. Shall pray for all of them.

[Nelson]

Hi folks,

I pray that the Lord be gracious to this poor girl.

Evil like this is hard for us to comprehend but we must realise that the real miracle on the earth is that there is any good at all,

• "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Gen 6:5)

• "So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God" (Lu 18:19)

• "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (Jas 1:17)

The natural man is capable of every evil. It is only by the spirit of God that mankind is capable of anything close to good. I'm not surprised by the length, depth and breadth of any evil done by man, I'm just grateful for God's grace that makes it possible for us to see HIS goodness in the midst of this evil race, and it is only by His grace that any of us are not like those boys who lured that girl. Evil is doing it's work as the dark backdrop to the goodness of God, it's just that so many focus on the evil in the background and not on God's goodness.

As for this little girl and all who suffer evil as she has,

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."" (Rev 21:4, 5)

Amen! Come quickly Lord Jesus

Grace and peace to you all

Nelson

[judith collier]

Stupid, irresponsible, ignorant, shameful, old world, third world, cultures. I can't bear them. Is there no love in these other religions and civilizations? That child should never be allowed to go home again, it might be her only hope. It is very hard to pray for anyone other than the little girl right now. Judy

[EKnight]

What a sad story.  It is times like these that faith can waiver.  It's sad that this poor girl can't understand at age 8 what has been done to her and just as sad that these boys know how to do this to a girl. 

Thank you God for keeping my daughter safe and please heal the mental anguish of this child and her attackers.

Eileen

[Dave in Tenn]

http://bible-truths.com/audio/N05%20Guilty_of_ALL.mp3