Teen charged as adult in assault of girl

PHOENIX, July 24 (UPI) -- A 14-year-old boy arrested in an alleged sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl was charged as an adult, Phoenix police said.

The teen was one of four boys -- ranging in ages from 9 to 14 -- who were arrested in the assault of the girl in a storage shed of an apartment complex. Maricopa County attorney Andrew Thomas said Thursday his office would "seek justice for the young victim in this heartrending situation," CNN reported Friday.

Phoenix police said the girl was lured to a storage shed at an apartment complex July 16 by the boys, who allegedly restrained and sexually assaulted her.

The 14-year-old faces two counts of sexual assault and one count of kidnapping, Thomas said. The other three boys were charged in juvenile court with sexual assault, and two of them were charged with kidnapping.

The victim and the suspects all refugees from Liberia, police said.

Detectives said the girl was in the custody of Phoenix child protective services after the attack because her parents said the child shamed the family name.

A sister of the girl told KTVK-TV, Phoenix, she had mixed feelings about her sister's attack.

"I came to her and said it's not good for you to be following guys because you are still little," the 23-year-old sister said. She also said that she wanted the suspects to be released from jail because "we are the same people."

Edwin Sele, Liberia's deputy ambassador to the United States, told CNN he was outraged by the incident and the family's reaction.

"In Liberia, the family and law enforcement officers would be embracing the victim," Sele said. "To hear that the family is not doing that, that should be an isolated case."