An 11-year-old Israeli girl was allegedly gang-raped repeatedly by a group of teenage boys and filmed being put through the heinous abuse by her perpetrators.
The four boys, each aged between 12 and 14, studied at the same educational institution as the girl. They invited her to a supposed ‘social gathering’ at an abandoned building about three months ago, whereupon they proceeded to rape her.
The sexual abuse continued over the coming week, with a knife being put on the victim’s throat during one instance, and she was kept quiet with the threat of the recordings being made public.
According to some reports, the videos were indeed circulated amongst the students and staff of the institution, though this remains unverified by the police as of yet.
On the other hand, the police did let the suspects free.
Citing the lack of circumstantial evidence and the boys’ ages, authorities allowed the suspected perpetrators to return home, with some back attending school lectures already.
The victim, meanwhile, has remained in a mental health institution since the alleged assault, suffering from a bout of post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD).
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 13, the girl’s father spoke about him and his family being forced into hiding away from the city after one of the alleged perpetrator’s elder brother threatened them with, both, physical harm and legal sanction.
The family’s lawyer, Hillel Babayev, expressed certain dissatisfaction at the police’s decision, saying, “This is one of the most shocking cases that I have encountered in all my years as a lawyer. We’re talking about negligence of the police, the welfare services, the Ministry of Education, and especially the educational institution where all the participants, including the victim, study. The injustice can not be rectified, but we will fight for justice to be implemented. I will fight for the girl and her family until these boys serve their punishment.”