Three teenagers have received probation for holding down and raping a 13-year-old girl on a Banning park playground in February.
During a hearing last week, the boys -- who are all 13 and classmates of the victim at Nicolet Middle School -- were each given credit for 120 days served in Riverside Juvenile Hall and ordered released to their parents or a group home. Where they go to school next year is to be determined.
While some members of the community said the sentence seemed too lenient, juvenile law experts said the juvenile justice system is designed to give young offenders the opportunity to reform.
"The public sometimes expects juveniles to get multiple years in jail, but that's not always the case; sometimes it can only be a few months," Banning Police Chief Leonard Purvis said Tuesday. "However, there can still be strict probation terms.
"Would I have liked to see them serve more time? Yeah," Purvis said. "For this crime, the community feels they should face a considerable amount of time for what they did."
The boys could not be tried as adults because they are younger than 14. Each was charged in juvenile court with forcible rape in concert and lewd acts with a child under 14 -- both felonies. They could have faced up to nine years in juvenile custody, which can house inmates until they turn 25.
Riverside County district attorney's office spokesman John Hall said after a thorough review of the evidence, prosecutors and defense attorneys negotiated and determined this was the appropriate sentence.
Juvenile Court Judge Charles Koosed sentenced one boy to six months' probation and released him to his parents. Another boy was placed on indefinite probation, the length to be determined by a probation officer, and released to his parents. He could be on probation up to age 21.
The third boy was ordered to remain at Juvenile Hall until he can be placed in a group home. He was also placed on indefinite probation.
Juveniles convicted of rape do not have to register as sex offenders.
The boys' names are not being released by The Press-Enterprise because they are juveniles.
RAPE ON PLAYGROUND
Banning police arrested the boys after the victim reported that she was raped on a playground at Roosevelt Williams Park just before sunset Feb. 7. The girl told police that the boys approached her as she was walking home and began to fondle her. They then threw her down on the playground set and two of them held her arms while the third raped her, police said.
One of the boys who held her down said his friend promised to loan him an iPod if he agreed to help, police said. The boys said they knew it was wrong and expressed remorse in their first interview with police.
The park has mostly returned to normal since the incident, with many visitors unaware of what occurred. On Tuesday, children played on a slip-n-slide and threw water balloons near the Boys & Girls Clubhouse that is at the park. The clubhouse had been temporarily closed for repairs after a break-in when the rape occurred in February.
Since then, the city has added lighting to the park and is seeking funding for a camera system. Police stepped up patrols at the park and now occasionally conduct their daily briefings there to increase their presence.
Teresa Rogers, 52, learned of the incident Tuesday when she was picking up her grandson from the Boys & Girls Clubhouse. She said she thought the boys should have received a harsher punishment.
"They should have got a lot more time than that. What does it teach them?" Rogers said.
PROBATION MEASURES
Before a judge issues a sentence in any case, the Riverside County Probation Department files a recommended sentence, including whether probation is a viable option, Chief Deputy Probation Officer Mark Hake said.
He would not say whether probation was recommended in this case, because it was in juvenile court.
Probation officials consider the victim's input, the severity of the crime, the defendants' ages, their potential threat to the community, their criminal history and other social factors before making a recommendation.
The probation terms generally order juveniles not to have any contact with the victim, to attend school and to follow a curfew.
In this case, after the boys are assigned a probation officer, they could resume regular school, or as more often happens, be assigned to a different campus by the Riverside County office of education.
"I think we absolutely can protect this victim," Hake said.
PROBATION AS A FIRST OFFENSE
Rape victim advocates say courts need to hand out strong sentences to hold sex offenders accountable and send a message that sex crimes are not tolerated.
"Any sex crimes are intolerable in our society and we should have appropriate consequences to send a strong message that what they did was serious and doesn't lead to repeating their actions," said Debora Monroe-Heaps, program director for the Riverside Rape Crisis center.
Probation can be an appropriate sentence for a youth's first offense because it gets the attention of the teens and is often a wake-up call for parents, said Rebecca LeBeau, executive director of the Child Assault Prevention Program in Reno, Nev., a nonprofit group that conducts elementary school workshops about abuse, abduction and bullying.
"You have to look at the whole child. Did these boys do something that is a one-off indiscretion or is this their future? Can they understand what they did is wrong?" she said.
Although the boys committed an adult crime, LeBeau said, they are still children and not capable of fully understanding the repercussions of their behavior.
And while the sentence may send a message that society doesn't treat such crimes seriously, the juvenile justice system is charged with protecting young offenders as well as victims, she said.
Officials look at whether children can be redeemed and become a productive member of society with guidance, or whether they are likely to reoffend and represent a danger to the community, said LeBeau and Bob Schwartz, executive director of the National Juvenile Law Center.
"Probation in a gang rape does seem unusual," Schwartz said. "I don't know if they were older, if they might have been sent away for longer."
Schwartz said the juvenile court system is "designed to give room to reform and tends to think kids are more capable to reform than adults."
"Everyone should be outraged by a gang rape," Schwartz said. "The question is how to make sure it never happens again. With kids, it's a different kind of intervention."
During a hearing last week, the boys -- who are all 13 and classmates of the victim at Nicolet Middle School -- were each given credit for 120 days served in Riverside Juvenile Hall and ordered released to their parents or a group home. Where they go to school next year is to be determined.
While some members of the community said the sentence seemed too lenient, juvenile law experts said the juvenile justice system is designed to give young offenders the opportunity to reform.
"The public sometimes expects juveniles to get multiple years in jail, but that's not always the case; sometimes it can only be a few months," Banning Police Chief Leonard Purvis said Tuesday. "However, there can still be strict probation terms.
"Would I have liked to see them serve more time? Yeah," Purvis said. "For this crime, the community feels they should face a considerable amount of time for what they did."
The boys could not be tried as adults because they are younger than 14. Each was charged in juvenile court with forcible rape in concert and lewd acts with a child under 14 -- both felonies. They could have faced up to nine years in juvenile custody, which can house inmates until they turn 25.
Riverside County district attorney's office spokesman John Hall said after a thorough review of the evidence, prosecutors and defense attorneys negotiated and determined this was the appropriate sentence.
Juvenile Court Judge Charles Koosed sentenced one boy to six months' probation and released him to his parents. Another boy was placed on indefinite probation, the length to be determined by a probation officer, and released to his parents. He could be on probation up to age 21.
The third boy was ordered to remain at Juvenile Hall until he can be placed in a group home. He was also placed on indefinite probation.
Juveniles convicted of rape do not have to register as sex offenders.
The boys' names are not being released by The Press-Enterprise because they are juveniles.
RAPE ON PLAYGROUND
Banning police arrested the boys after the victim reported that she was raped on a playground at Roosevelt Williams Park just before sunset Feb. 7. The girl told police that the boys approached her as she was walking home and began to fondle her. They then threw her down on the playground set and two of them held her arms while the third raped her, police said.
One of the boys who held her down said his friend promised to loan him an iPod if he agreed to help, police said. The boys said they knew it was wrong and expressed remorse in their first interview with police.
The park has mostly returned to normal since the incident, with many visitors unaware of what occurred. On Tuesday, children played on a slip-n-slide and threw water balloons near the Boys & Girls Clubhouse that is at the park. The clubhouse had been temporarily closed for repairs after a break-in when the rape occurred in February.
Since then, the city has added lighting to the park and is seeking funding for a camera system. Police stepped up patrols at the park and now occasionally conduct their daily briefings there to increase their presence.
Teresa Rogers, 52, learned of the incident Tuesday when she was picking up her grandson from the Boys & Girls Clubhouse. She said she thought the boys should have received a harsher punishment.
"They should have got a lot more time than that. What does it teach them?" Rogers said.
PROBATION MEASURES
Before a judge issues a sentence in any case, the Riverside County Probation Department files a recommended sentence, including whether probation is a viable option, Chief Deputy Probation Officer Mark Hake said.
He would not say whether probation was recommended in this case, because it was in juvenile court.
Probation officials consider the victim's input, the severity of the crime, the defendants' ages, their potential threat to the community, their criminal history and other social factors before making a recommendation.
The probation terms generally order juveniles not to have any contact with the victim, to attend school and to follow a curfew.
In this case, after the boys are assigned a probation officer, they could resume regular school, or as more often happens, be assigned to a different campus by the Riverside County office of education.
"I think we absolutely can protect this victim," Hake said.
PROBATION AS A FIRST OFFENSE
Rape victim advocates say courts need to hand out strong sentences to hold sex offenders accountable and send a message that sex crimes are not tolerated.
"Any sex crimes are intolerable in our society and we should have appropriate consequences to send a strong message that what they did was serious and doesn't lead to repeating their actions," said Debora Monroe-Heaps, program director for the Riverside Rape Crisis center.
Probation can be an appropriate sentence for a youth's first offense because it gets the attention of the teens and is often a wake-up call for parents, said Rebecca LeBeau, executive director of the Child Assault Prevention Program in Reno, Nev., a nonprofit group that conducts elementary school workshops about abuse, abduction and bullying.
"You have to look at the whole child. Did these boys do something that is a one-off indiscretion or is this their future? Can they understand what they did is wrong?" she said.
Although the boys committed an adult crime, LeBeau said, they are still children and not capable of fully understanding the repercussions of their behavior.
And while the sentence may send a message that society doesn't treat such crimes seriously, the juvenile justice system is charged with protecting young offenders as well as victims, she said.
Officials look at whether children can be redeemed and become a productive member of society with guidance, or whether they are likely to reoffend and represent a danger to the community, said LeBeau and Bob Schwartz, executive director of the National Juvenile Law Center.
"Probation in a gang rape does seem unusual," Schwartz said. "I don't know if they were older, if they might have been sent away for longer."
Schwartz said the juvenile court system is "designed to give room to reform and tends to think kids are more capable to reform than adults."
"Everyone should be outraged by a gang rape," Schwartz said. "The question is how to make sure it never happens again. With kids, it's a different kind of intervention."
