A Phoenix judge has dropped the charges against one of the youngest refugee boys initially charged with the gang rape of an 8 year old girl, also a refugee, here. The oldest of the four boys is being charged as an adult.
PHOENIX — Sexual assault charges against a 9-year-old Liberian boy accused in the gang-rape of an 8-year-old girl were dismissed on Wednesday by a juvenile court judge in Phoenix.
The ruling issued by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Dawn Bergin came after she spent weeks considering if the boy could be made to understand the charges against him. In the seven-page decision, she ruled that the boy could not and is incompetent to stand trial. The charges, sexual assault and sexual contact with a minor, can’t be refiled.
Bergin noted in her ruling that because the offense was “serious” the boy is considered a dependent child under Arizona law and programs are available to rehabilitate him and protect the public. He was held in juvenile detention for a month after his arrest and then placed in a Child Protective Services’ foster home, where he remains.
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