Cultural Enrichment in Arizona

Since Liberia has a relatively small (20%) Muslim population, chances are that neither the victim nor the perps in this story are Muslims.

The most egregious forms of cultural enrichment are not exclusively Muslim, and some of the practices that have been preserved intact by Islam in other parts of the world are still the norm in sub-Saharan Africa.

Take, for example, this case involving Liberian refugees in Arizona:

Family Disowns Arizona Girl, 8, After Alleged Gang Sex Assault

PHOENIX — The family of an eight-year-old girl who was allegedly gang-sexually assaulted will not take her back into their home, declaring that the girl has dishonored them.

Charges have been filed against four boys, ages nine to 14, suspected of sexually assaulting the girl in Phoenix, Arizona, last week, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.

County attorney Andrew Thomas has requested the oldest boy be tried as an adult.

The boys are accused of luring the girl with chewing gum to a shed by a vacant apartment unit, then restraining her and taking turns sexually assaulting her, according to Phoenix police.

The boys and the victim were resettled Liberian refugees.

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The girl was turned over to state Child Protective Services after her family disowned her, Phoenix Police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said Wednesday. The girl’s parents blamed her for being victimized and bringing shame to the family, he said.

Thomas filed a criminal complaint against the 14-year-old suspect Wednesday, accusing him of two counts of sexual assault and one of kidnapping in the July 16 incident. He is being held without bond, which state law requires due to the nature of the crime.

The other three boys, aged nine, 10 and 13, will be prosecuted in juvenile court. The youngest faces a count of sexual assault, while the 10- and 13-year-old boys each face multiple counts of sexual assault and one of kidnapping, county attorney Andrew Thomas said in a news release.

The county attorney’s office has 15 days to determine whether to petition the court to transfer any of the remaining cases.

Ali Keita, a Liberian who immigrated to the United States in 1997, said the crime was “horrible” and “serious.”

As president of the Arizona Mandingo Association, Keita works with Liberian refugees to ease their integration into American society. Keita said many refugees he has worked with lived amidst rampant rape and brutal violence in Liberia, commonplace during the country’s recent civil war.

For a complete listing of previous enrichment news, see The Cultural Enrichment Archives.

Hat tip: Vlad Tepes.