Unwillingness of Milwaukee community to address local sex crime is disturbing beyond words

I was called out by a friend of mine yesterday for not being up on local Chicago news.  I admit, I’ve spent a lot of time lately reading world and political news and unintentionally ignoring the craziness literally going on two blocks down the street.  Apparently the neighborhood next to mine, Humboldt Park, has a massive police force creating essentially a militarized zone as a result of the many acts of violence that have happened in the last couple of weeks.  The giant Chicago Police trucks, some of which can hold up to 100 cops as well as having a direct line to call in the National Reserve, are kind of freaking folks out.  I had noticed the helicopters of late, but am ashamed to admit that I didn’t delve further into the situation.

So, definitely with a slice of humble pie in my mouth, I started reading the metro section of the Sun-Times to get an idea of what’s going on.  The last time I read the local news, I was definitely shocked by the headlines that stream down the page.  Essentially they read, murder, murder, murder, murder, shooting, murder…  Unfortunately, it was the same this time.  However I stumbled upon an article with the title, “Few talking about gang assault on girl, 11.” The article is about a Labor Day gang rape that took place a year ago in Milwaukee, WI.  I was shocked at the brutality of the crime perpetrated on a little girl, aged 11, being forced to perform sex acts on 20 men aged 13 to 40.  Fourteen were convicted and sentenced, including the 16 year old girl who actually brought the child to the premises and convinced her to engage in the first three assaults.  It was sickening and disturbing, but what really made me physically ill was the attitude of the townspeople.

I can understand the victim’s family being unwilling to speak to the press about such a horrifying subject or wanting to shelter their child from more public scrutiny.  However, I couldn’t believe the unwillingness of the community to address the issue or even support the convictions of the people responsible for the crime.  The most disturbing part of the article however was the comments of a local woman who stated about the convictions,

‘‘Five years? Ten years? That’s ridiculous,’’ said LaToya Bell, 22. ‘‘They (are) getting time for nothing. That girl, she knew what she was doing.’’

How could anyone claim that of an 11 year old girl?  The whole thing reminded me of an open thread at Racialicious: The R. Kelly Verdict.  Again, the 14 year old victim in the video tape was accused of being “fast.”  Honestly, the whole thing makes me sick when I think about it, and I know it happens all the time, not just in minority communities.  Where are we going as a society when we sacrifice our daughters in favor of our sons?