An ongoing court case where a local teenager has been accused of raping multiple young girls has the girls’ family members frustrated.
The case is sealed because of the ages of the victims involved and that it involves sex crimes.
The accused is charged with raping victims under the age of 14. Family members showed the Register documents related to the case to verify their statements. The Register does not identify victims in sex crimes.
Family members of the victims said they are frustrated not only because the case is sealed but because the offender was charged as a juvenile instead of an adult. He was just six months from turning 18 when a 12-year-old girl accused him of rape that she said took place on Dec. 31, 2022, according to the girl’s mother and the documents she provided.
The mother said she learned about the incident a few weeks after it happened when she was contacted by a school resource officer. He told her he had reason to believe her daughter was raped and that the male teenager had shared a video of the incident at school, she said. The teenager was arrested a few days later, the mother told the Register.
She later discovered 10 other girls had made similar accusations against the teen. On Nov. 30, 2023, a chapter of the organization Bikers Against Child Abuse escorted a group of girls into the Allen County District Court to testify about their experiences. This Register reporter also met with the group but the families did not want to discuss the case at the time.
Families of the victims said they wanted the teenager to be tried as an adult but a judge ruled the case would remain in the juvenile justice system. The teen is now 19.
Juvenile justice court proceedings are different from adult court. Instead of facing a conviction, juveniles are adjudicated, a process during which the judge considers the case and decides whether the juvenile committed the act.
Juveniles do not face jury trials. Most cases will result in home supervision, particularly after legislative reform efforts passed in 2016. Research found that alternative and at-home programs produce better public safety outcomes than out-of-home placements and at a much lower cost, according to a report from the Pew Research Center.
The families who spoke to the Register said they held out hope Magistrate Judge Charles Apt would reconsider and charge him as an adult, and are upset because they believe the perpetrator will receive little punishment.
A court hearing in the case is scheduled for Thursday in Chanute. The mother of the 12-year-old girl said she was told to expect a plea deal in her child’s case, with the other cases dismissed. She provided a document that listed the teen charged with rape and aggravated indecent liberties with a child.
The mother and a relative of another victim also shared information with the Register that the teen had been arrested for violations of terms of his bond after being released from jail while awaiting resolution of the case.
Apt did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Assistant County Attorney Brandon Cameron said he could not comment on the case.
The mother of the male teenager accused in the juvenile case also is facing criminal charges related to the Dec. 31, 2022, incident. That case is public record but to identify her would also identify the teenager whose case is sealed.
