Crime & Safety
Facebook Live Sex Assault: Victim's Family Could Be Moved After Threats, Chicago's Top Cop Says
The Cook Co. State's Attorney's Office offered relocation because of harassment online and in the neighborhood, Supt. Eddie Johnson said.
CHICAGO, IL — Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson says officials have offered to find a new home for the family of a 15-year-old victim of a sexual assault that was streamed on Facebook Live because the teenage girl and her relatives have been threatened online and taunted by neighborhood kids, the Chicago Tribune reports.
According to the city's top cop, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office has reached out to the family to help them relocate from their Lawndale neighborhood home in the wake of the attack, the report stated. Earlier this week, the victim's mother expressed her frustration and outrage at the harassment her daughter and the rest of the family has received.
"This is just disturbing, and to think, the kids think it is funny," she told The Associated Press.
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"I can't stay here," the mother added. "I have other kids, too. I let them walk to school, and now I have to take them."
The 15-year-old victim — the oldest of six children — went missing Sunday, March 19, after her uncle dropped her off at home. The family reported the disappearance Monday, and later that day, relatives were informed of a disturbing Facebook Live video featuring the teen.
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RELATED: Missing Teen Found As Cops Investigate Facebook Live Video Of Boys Allegedly Sexually Assaulting Her
In the footage, the girl is sexually assaulted by several boys. The video was viewed by about 40 people before its inappropriate content was reported to Facebook officials and removed from the social media network.
The teen was found Tuesday, March 21, a few blocks from her home and taken to a nearby hospital. According to the victim's uncle, the teen was in "good condition," but she suffered injuries from the attack.
Since the video surfaced and the girl returned home, the family and the victim have been tormented online and at home. According to the mother, Facebook users have left threats, saying they are out to get the teen, and children have come to the door, asking for the girl, who is staying with a relative because she's too afraid to be home.
"I know that the family has been harassed quite a bit," Johnson said Friday, according to the Tribune. "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 girl has] been a victim already, and then we’re going to make it worse and pile on as to make it appear that it’s her fault all of this happened?" he added "It’s disgusting. You know, and as a father of girls it really disgusts me."
RELATED: 'I Can't Stay Here': Family Of Girl Sexually Assaulted In Facebook Live Video Threatened, Taunted
The internet threats have now become part of a parallel investigation as police work to uncover who attacked the teen and posted the video of it online. So far, no suspects have been named, and no charges have been filed.
Johnson said one of the challenges of the investigation is that the suspects involved are thought to be juveniles.
"When you’re dealing with juveniles, that process takes a lot longer than when you’re were dealing with an adult offender," he told the Tribune. "We want to ensure that we get it right, so we’re not going to rush things, because we want everybody involved in this incident from A to Z to be held accountable."
Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson (photo via Patch archive)
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