A shocking incident unfolded as a five-year-old girl was reportedly raped and scalped by a nine-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl in Ohio, US. The young victim, who is autistic and remains unidentified, went missing from a relative’s residence in Cleveland on September 13. She was later discovered unconscious, bloodied, and battered in a nearby field.
Both the nine-year-old boy and the 10-year-old girl are facing charges of attempted murder and rape related to the assault. While the 10-year-old girl denied the allegations during her appearance in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court, the nine-year-old boy failed to attend his arraignment, leading the judge to issue a warning of a potential arrest warrant if he misses further hearings. These children, among the youngest to face such serious charges in the state this year, also face accusations of felonious assault, kidnapping, and strangulation.
Prosecutors revealed that the victim had been subjected to urination and sexual assault before being found and hospitalized for several days. The victim’s mother urged Judge Kristin Sweeney to consider the traumatic ordeal her daughter endured when determining the fate of the accused minors.
The accused 10-year-old girl, accompanied by a woman not her mother, appeared in court wearing a mask and a pink coat with a fur-lined hood, sitting across from the victim’s mother. Both remained silent throughout the proceedings. The girl’s defense attorney denied the charges on her behalf, while the assistant county prosecutor requested home detention with an ankle monitor as a minimum precaution.
Judge Sweeney sided with the prosecutor, emphasizing the severity of the charges and the absence of the girl’s parents in court. Concerns were raised about the girl’s comprehension of the charges, leading to a request for a competency evaluation to determine her ability to understand the legal process.
The boy’s attorney requested a continuance citing car trouble, which was granted by Judge Sweeney, rescheduling the arraignment for the following week with a warning of a potential arrest warrant if he fails to appear.
The victim’s mother described the harrowing scene of her daughter’s injuries, including scalped hair and extensive bruises. Distressing images revealed the extent of the girl’s physical trauma. The mother recounted her daughter’s frightening words upon waking up in the hospital, expressing disbelief at her child’s awareness of death at such a young age.