4 minors suspected in South Africa gang rape released on bail
Johannesburg (CNN) — Four minors accused in a brutal videotaped gang rape of a mentally disabled teenager were released on $67 bail Thursday, their lawyer said.
The boys fear for their safety and will not be returning to their homes because of anger in the community, lawyer William Karam told CNN.
A South African court has already determined that three of the four will face full prosecution.
The court has not made a ruling on how to prosecute the fourth minor suspect, a 13-year-old. South African law presumes children up to the age of 14 to be “criminally incapable.”
Repentant rapist never thought of victim
South Africa’s rape problem
Rape crisis in South Africa
Prosecutor Carina Coetzee said the four minors were placed under house arrest, according to the South African Press Association.
The four are among eight suspects charged with kidnapping and raping the girl. Three are adult teenagers seen on the video and the other suspect is a 37-year-old man who was found with the victim.
The images of the assault of the 17-year-old girl, believed to be mentally ill, swept across the Internet last month and touched a nerve in South Africa.
The shocking footage shows the girl pleading for her attackers to stop, and it has some activists saying it is an example of the country’s problem with rape.
The girl went missing
Category: Africa News
