AL - Bessemer PD charge five in rape of 13-year-old

http://www.myfoxal.com/story/26237926/bessemer-pd-charge-5-in-rape-of-13-year-old

Bessemer police have arrested five people accused of holding a 13-year-old against her will and raping her repeatedly... Police say last month the girl's parents reported her missing...

Lt. Darron Hunter with the Bessemer Police Department said the girl didn't know the men and was assaulted over three days at different locations in Bessemer. She was eventually able to escape...

The suspects arrested in this case are Derion Shumpert, Khalil Bradley, and Sammy Cooper, Jr. They are all 19 years old. The other two are not being named because they're juveniles but Lt. Hunter said those two juveniles could be charged as adults. There could be more arrests in this case.

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I don't understand why police are not calling this a kidnapping, when language like "she was able to escape" is being used.

kidnap charges may come. I suspect the young lady went home and when angry parents wanted to know where she was she divulged about the men. LE must have received some sort of physical evidence or acknowledgement from the suspects that sex occurred hence the rape charges but are still working to establish that the teen was there against her will.

Now before the tomatoes start flying let me say I am not doubting that she was kidnapped. But I think the men and boys involved are telling another story. I think they probably owned up to the sex (which is rape due to lack of ability of minor victim to consent) and are claiming she was all on board. The arrests were likely based on the idiot criminals admitting they spent a three days or so passing round a willing 13 year old. That is all LE need for arrest and charge with crime of rape. But with two conflicting versions over willingness that means more investigation is needed before the abduction charges can be tacked on.

JMO

Well, ticya, I've certainly had to pick tomato seeds out of my hair on this board! I really think the line between consent and non consent, and girls who may look 19 but are 12, makes this whole thing extremely blurry sometimes. But in a case where LE is stating she didn't know the men, and use language like she was able to escape, they can't then say she wasn't kidnapped. It appears it was LE's description "when she was able to escape" and so "kidnapped" is the appropriate term for what happened to her. Otherwise, don't use the term "escape", but rather, "when she returned home".

I guess I'm discussing words here, and not situations. I'm often troubled when men are charged with rape in cases where they really could not have been expected to know a girl is underage by her appearance and except for her age, she was consenting. This case is more troublesome, with her not knowing the men, IMHO.

I know, I have had a couple of ripe ones in the face myself at times You and I have fallen on some different sides of debates around this very topic. I do agree with you on this tho, the verbiage used makes it seem that LE believe this victim was indeed held against her will.

But if the men are telling a different story by not charging kidnapping yet police have lost nothing. They have the men arrested for one serious crime while they are free to investigate the other crimes involved without that pesky clock ticking about discovery etc.

Pics of two of the perps here

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...d-raped-FIVE-men-including-two-juveniles.html

Shumpert is charged with second-degree rape and has been released on $25,000 bond.

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Bradley faces one charge of second-degree sodomy.

Cooper is charged with first-degree sodomy and remains at Jefferson County Jail, unable to post a $500,000 bail.

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