Monster or Monsters?

[Darth Paul]

By SHANNON McCAFFREY, AP

35 minutes ago

ACWORTH, Ga. —

Three boys, ages 8 and 9, were being held Monday in a detention center on charges of kidnapping and raping an 11-year-old girl near a suburban apartment complex, officials said.

The alleged attack happened Thursday and the girl's mother reported it to authorities Sunday, Acworth police Capt. Wayne Dennard said.

"The victim said they were playing outdoors and the girl was forced into a wooded area where she was sexually assaulted, where one of the boys raped her," Dennard told The Associated Press.

The three boys _ an 8-year-old and two 9-year-olds _ were charged with rape, kidnapping, false imprisonment and sexual assault, Dennard said. They were due in juvenile court Monday afternoon. Their names were being withheld because of their age.

Dennard would not comment further.

Acworth Police Chief Mike Wilkie said said one of the boys was accused of threatening to hit the girl with a rock before the alleged assault. Wilkie also said the investigation is "far from over," and investigators are looking into claims that after the alleged attack, the girl talked about it with her friends at a slumber party.

The father of the 8-year-old boy said his son had been falsely accused and had not had sex with the girl.

The sexual activity was consensual, and the girl accused her playmates only after her parents had learned she had sex, said the father, Brandon LeBlanc.

"There was no violence involved," LeBlanc said. "This is a clear case of a girl who didn't want to get in trouble with her parents."

He added, "In order to save her hide, she tried to blame it on rape."

The girl's mother, however, told WGCL-TV in Atlanta, "They do need to be taught a lesson because if they do it to her, they could do it to somebody else. And who knows when they become teenagers what they can do to other girls."

The case involves children from a working class apartment complex on the northern outskirts of metro Atlanta.

LeBlanc said the kids all played together, biking or throwing a ball around in the apartment complex's parking lot. He said his son is a third grader at a Baptist school who loves the Atlanta Falcons and is a batboy for his church's softball league.

Prosecutors had not received the case report from police on Monday, nor had they decided whether to try the suspects as adults.

"That decision hasn't been made," said Kathy Watkins, a spokeswoman for the Cobb County District Attorney's office. She had no further comment.

Acworth, 30 miles northwest of Atlanta along the shores of Lake Allatoona, is a town of about 17,000. Acworth police said their department has never before investigated allegations of rape where all the parties were this young.

"This wouldn't be normal anywhere, but especially not Acworth," Dennard said.

[Guest Laurent.]

I honestly cannot believe this... don't even know that to say. God, when I was 8 we were almost too shy (or scared of girls) to even talk to a girl our age.

[Guest peas_and_corn]

A little OT I know, but Darth Paul- your avatar reminds me of Mudvayne when they wore makeup

[Guest Thomas]

I honestly cannot believe this...

There is a panel in our minds that separates deep truth from our conscience thoughts. For example, we know we are going to die. That knowledge is very different from a Doctor saying we have Cancer. The shock, the fear, that wakes us from our slumber and drags us out into a cold, cruel world. We can't believe we are really going to die.

Frank Black could imagine how fearFUL this world is by looking at Jordan in her hospital bed. He lived in the truly deep things of this world.

[hippyroo]

As a teacher of young children I have seen some of them "adapt" to the new world in very sad ways. The internet offers vivid sexual images to anyone. Many young kids see this stuff quite regularly. Some of the young girls 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 etc. after seeing what is called sex on the net decide that those pictures represent what they are supposed to do for boys. It's more than carnal knowledge; it's a visual how to for male fantasy sex. We've had some pretty sad cases in which the girls can not be convinced they ought not do the things they are caught doing. Don't think I'm blaming the girls. I'm blaming situations in which children are allowed to view such things so easily. The boys? All men are pigs, aren't we?

In otherwords, I'm not as shocked by this story as I would have been 10 years ago.

[Raven Wolf]

*shakes head*

When I was 8 or 9 years old, I thought boys were "ickey", and all the boys I knew thought girls were "Ickey".

Y'know, I almost hope that 11 year old girl made the whole thing up...

[Darth Paul]

A little OT I know, but Darth Paul- your avatar reminds me of Mudvayne when they wore makeup

Hah hah! yeah when I first saw Mudvayne I thought "Hey, it's the Darth Maul family reunion!"

[Darth Paul]

As a teacher of young children I have seen some of them "adapt" to the new world in very sad ways. The internet offers vivid sexual images to anyone. Many young kids see this stuff quite regularly. Some of the young girls 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 etc. after seeing what is called sex on the net decide that those pictures represent what they are supposed to do for boys. It's more than carnal knowledge; it's a visual how to for male fantasy sex. We've had some pretty sad cases in which the girls can not be convinced they ought not do the things they are caught doing. Don't think I'm blaming the girls. I'm blaming situations in which children are allowed to view such things so easily. The boys? All men are pigs, aren't we?

In otherwords, I'm not as shocked by this story as I would have been 10 years ago.

Sad but true, Hippyroo. Sad but true.

[Guest Laurent.]

Great post hippyroo. Makes me wonder...

FRANK: It's happened, more and more.

LARA: Has our culture bred this possibility?

Interview with unknown man from a Godspeed You! Black Emperor song:

- d'you think things are gonna get better before they get worse?

- no way. things are just gonna get worse and keep on getting worse. like i said, america's a third world country as it is and...and we're just basically in a hopeless situation as it stands.

- what d'you think this country's gonna look like in the year 200X?

- y'know, i'll tell you the truth - nothing against you guys, but i don't wanna answer that question because...i haven't even got a mind that's that...that inhumane.