Torrington Football Rape Case: 3 Teens Charged With Sexual Assault of 13-Year-Olds
Three Torrington High School students, two of whom are star football players, have been arrested and charged with the sexual assault of a minor after allegations were made by a 13-year-old girl. The case is being compared to that of the Steubenville, Ohio rape case, given the relation to sports and the fact that one 13-year-old victim is now being bullied for speaking out about the rape.
Edgar Gonzalez and Joan Toribio, both 18, have been charged with felony second-degree sexual assault and other crimes last month for their alleged participation in cases involving more than one 13-year-old girl. They have plead not guilty to all charges, and a judge sealed the record of allegations in order to protect their privacy and that of the young victims.
Another 17-year-old boy was just arrested and charged with second-degree assault, but his name is not being released to the media due to the fact that he is a minor. The victims' names are also not being released by the media, but that has not stopped the girls from being bullied online and in person.
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Family members reported the abuse the day after it allegedly happened, police said at a press conference. What's more disturbing, however, is the fact that there could be more arrests made in connection with the cases.
"It's very complex, but the case is under control," Lt. Michael Emanuel said at the press conference. "It was consensual in the sense that it was not an attack but not consensual in the eyes of the law."
"Often times people are arrested, and when all the facts come out, they're different than what people assumed," Gonzalez's lawyer, J. Patten Brown III told The Washington Post.
The accused have all been suspended from Torrington High, but the victims are still at the school and have been the targets of bullying ever since their stories went public. The girls have been called "hoes" and blamed for ruining the boys' lives.
"If it takes two then why is only one in trouble?" Daniel Henry tweeted.
"Young girls acting like whores there's no punishment for that young men acting like boys is a sentence," added Walter Lewis.
Toribio has posted $100,000 bail for his two sexual assault cases, while Gonzalez is currently being held on $65,000 bail at the New Haven Correctional Center.
