Arrests were made in California last weekend of three men and seven boys, ranging in age from 15 to 25, for the rapes of a 12-year-old and two 13-year-old girls. The girls, who were reported as runaways, were offered a ride home from the ex-boyfriend of one of the girls. The girls were taken to a motel in Fresno where friends of the driver were throwing a party. The girls were allegedly taken to the bathroom and raped by as many as 16 men over several hours.
Later in the evening a boy snuck out of the party and called the police. When the police arrived they questioned many of the suspects and the girls, but the girls did not officially report the rapes until two days later. Sylvia Ogden of the Victim Witness Service Center said that most gang rape victims do not report the crime. “A lot of rape victims feel dirty. ... They’re fearful. Most victims blame themselves. They feel alone,” said Ogden.
Authorities have charged the three men and five juveniles with counts of rape, gang rape, lewd and lascivious acts with children and false imprisonment, according to a Scipps Howard news story. Chief Deputy District Attorney J. Worthington Vogel said the assailants would likely be convicted since the suspects were identified by the victims.
6/18/2013 Supreme Court Strikes Down Proof of Citizenship Voter Requirements - On Monday, the United States Supreme Court struck down an Arizona law requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship before being allowed register to vote.
In an opinion written [PDF] by Justice Antonin Scalia, the Court ruled that the Arizona statute violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA, also known as the "Motor Voter Law") of 1993, which created a federal form that individuals can mail in to register to vote in federal elections. . . .
6/18/2013 Pakistani Women's University Bus, Hospital Bombed - A bus for a women's university in Pakistan and the hospital that treated victims from the blast were bombed on Saturday, killing 14 students and 24 others at the hospital.
The bus was transporting female students and teachers from Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University in Quetta, located in the southwestern part of Pakistan. . . .
6/18/2013 Taliban Attack In Afghan Capital As NATO Transfers Power - Yesterday, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) transferred responsibility for the country's security forces to the Afghan government after a bomb blast targeting a political official left three civilians dead in Kabul. . . .
