Ya thats pretty messed up...It wouldnt surprise me if they had gotten somekind of inspiration from someone they knew. I find it hard to believe they formulated this idea by themselves...but then again, stranger and more disturbing things have happened.

Tragic.

Society in freefall.

I really have no hope for the human race in it's entirety.

Originally posted by greeneyedleo
How can they be helped? Is it too late? What should their punishment be? Are they a threat to others, could they do it again?

They should be punished the same way any sex offender should. They should be locked up in a juvenile prison until they are old enough to be transferred to a real prison.

It might not be too late to help them, but some simple "rehabilitation" won't do it. They need to be shown the real consequences of what they have done, and not be given special treatment because they are children.

A rape is not a random crime, it is a crime where you know what you are doing and plan doing it.

Children or not...lock them up.

I disagree, I seriously doubt that at that age you can properly rape someone. As in plan it out, know the full consequences and repercussions. Most likely the play involved or trigged the most basic and primitive of sexual desires (arousal) and things went on from there. It's hard to comment without knowing the context and the actual specific details. But one thing is for sure, to try these kids as adults is absurd. It's a proven fact the human mind is not fully developed at that age, hence cognitive ability, perception and actions do not correspond with adult standards.

[edit on 19-11-2007 by WestPoint23]

Originally posted by DeadFlagBlues
Society in freefall.

I really have no hope for the human race in it's entirety.

I have to agree..

I dont think I knew what sex was when I was 9 years old.. just insane.. then again I didn't watch cartoons where the characters dressed like skanky whores either, nor did I have cable and HBO and the large sex abundance on those channels.. and neither did I have the internet, it was very, very primitive back then.. and you would be surprised at how young some kids are when they find the porn on the internet..

Hard to say what kind of punishment they should get.. I would firstly assume a very large law suit against the kids parents, as for the kids them selves probably counciling of some sort, written apology maybe. Personally I would see them locked up till they turn 21. But that's me, and we are a soft society who does not care about justice..

Jeeps. This is a shocking news report.

But I agree with Westy. I can't see any 8 or 9 year old boy being capable of such a crime. Puberty might be arriving earlier for kids nowadays but I doubt it's reached kids of that age. Surely to goodness it's a case of kids playing doctors and nurses and it going badly wrong somewhere ?

If not, heaven help us all.

The first thought that came to my mind is that these boys have been hurt themselves. Now, I am not SURE of it, but I think an investigation should take place. Kid's don't come up with this stuff on their own.

If they did get the idea from TV or Movies, someone still needs to look into their homes, as they certainly are not being properly supervised.

Very sad case. Very sad indeed.

Originally posted by Rockpuck
But that's me, and we are a soft society who does not care about justice..

Why needlessly ruin someones entire life from such an early age for an action which they were not fully aware of? In this case blind justice would be dumb justice. Counseling and educational classes will have to be a priority, then comes supervision and support. Given the case any form of legal repercussion which attempts to punish rather than rehabilitee is pointless and unproductive. Lets not ruin these young lives more than we have to by letting societal and personal emotions trump reason and common sense.

Being physically capable of doing something and being fully aware of what you are doing are two very distinct things. The former is meaningless without considering the latter.

[edit on 19-11-2007 by WestPoint23]

Originally posted by DeadFlagBlues
Society in freefall.

I really have no hope for the human race in it's entirety.

as disgusting and cruel as it sounds, I think we are on the right track. This is just a symptom of overpopulation and the apathy caused by it.

I am shocked. Not by the news story but by everyone's replies. I a lot of us here complain non stop about the Media and news stories being biased and not factual. Yet everyone reads this story and already you have convicted not one, not two, but three children under the age of 10. You can't believe the media about 9-11 but you willingly accept this story as fact?

Allow me to ask a question....

If you are the mother of this 12 year old girl, would you wait 3 days to report her rape? I sure wouldn't, but this "rape" occurred on Thursday and was reported on Sunday and no explanation is given for the delay, but does that make sense to anyone here?

When I see stories like this, I think back to the movie "The Running Man". At the beginning of the movie you see the News Report with video of Richards killing all the innocent civilians. At the end of the movie they play the real footage. However because it was reported as "News" everyone was against him and considered him a criminal and the "Butcher of Bakersfield".

they arent going to be tried as adults even if the DA says they will they have to go through a lot of stuff. i was 17 when me and a friend were charged with armed robbery and i am being tried as a adult. but these kids will have to see a psychiatrist to prove they are capable of adult descision making, they will have to prove to the court that the juvenile system cant help them, if they are tried as adults though they wont be in a adult facility they will still be in a juvenile prison and will recieve a adult sentence. what is worse though, is on a first offense as a child they usually get probation . this is horrible what happenned to the girl, but i think at 8 years old about a year in juvenile prison will really change things for them. even though its not a adult prison at that age the juvenile prison would be a nightmare.

I got a call from my wife about this report. I also happen to live in Acworth, GA. I have the same feelings as some in that these kids have been exposed to something in their own lives that would prompt them to act like this, though they are from 2 different families. This could also be attributed to a "mob mentality" when two young boys want to "show" eachother up.

Either way this is inexcusable and these boys should be punished as harshly as a typical sex-offender would be.

I know if this happened to my little girl I would probably be the next news story.........

I have no problem with confronting the parents of these children and getting straight answers, and I may try to find them and do just that. This is a horrible crime that this little girl will never be able to forget and these boys may just get off with a slap on the wrist. IMO I think the parents should be held responsible for their actions as the children could not have gotten this idea from a normal upbringing.

I find that society has let me down on numerous occasions and I plan on making sure my little girl KNOWS how to defend herself and what to do if something of this nature occurs. I have no respect for the families of the boys and can only hope that the theory of natural selection applies.

-B

How can they be charged with anything ? Doesn't Georgia set a minimum age for criminal responsibility ? Over here in Scotland it's 8y/o, south of the border in England it's 10y/o. There must be some kind of equivalent in the US ?

For the most part we adult did not know what sex was when we were 8 and 9. That was a good thing IMO.


However, today thanks to the public school system they are teaching our children all about sex at that age. Knowing full well they don't understand it quite yet and all their doing is causing this to happen.

Originally posted by Shar
However, today thanks to the public school system they are teaching our children all about sex at that age. Knowing full well they don't understand it quite yet and all their doing is causing this to happen.

To clarify,

are you saying that if a child of 8 or 9 knows about sex they are destined to be a sex offender? That's absolutely baseless and ridiculous.

No I did not say that. However, these cases are seen more now. Why?


Well it's because they are being taught at such a young age. An age of innocents. where they should be playing car and trucks and baby dolls. Not thinking of, "hum, wonder about what that is really like."

Given this fact along with the tv going nuts over sex our children are learning too much way too soon.

If you don't think that is true sorry. But, I do and I just stated my opinion on it that is all.