Chicago authorities have stepped in after the family of a 15-year-old assault victim experienced threats and taunts following her rape, which was broadcast on Facebook Live last week.
The assault by six men was broadcast live and none of the forty viewers reported the crime. The police are already talking to a 14-year-old boy, and the others involved are believed to be juveniles.
The harassment of the family began days after, though it is not yet clear exactly when the assault occurred.
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“It’s sickening. It’s disgusting,” police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said. “You know, she’s been victimized once. Now we’re going to continue to keep victimizing her?”
The harassment has been enough for authorities to propose relocating the family.
“The state’s attorney’s office has reached out to the family to offer them relocation,” Johnson said. “I know that the family has been harassed quite a bit. There have been no actual threats of violence, but they’ve been taunted and harassed, so we have a special attention on that residence. So we take this seriously.”
The taunts are appearing both on and offline. The mother of the victim told the Chicago Tribune that people have been ringing the doorbell at their home, and making threats in the middle of the night.
The girl disappeared on March 21 by her home, and was found wandering the streets blocks from her home two days later.