Qld: Family warned against taking gang raped girl out of care

AAP General News (Australia)
12-13-2007
Qld: Family warned against taking gang raped girl out of care

SYDNEY, Dec 13 AAP - The family of a 10-year-old girl who was gang raped in the far
north Queensland Aboriginal community of Aurukun had warned authorities she would be in
danger if removed from foster care in Cairns.

The girl was gang raped by nine men in Aurukun in April 2006, but her attackers escaped
jail time, sparking furore nationwide.

Her family have expressed outrage at the sentence the nine males received, and claim
some of the offenders had first raped the girl when she was seven.

"She should never have been allowed to come back from foster care while those boys
were still here," the girl's mother told The Australian newspaper today.

"We told that to welfare. (Some of) those boys had raped her in the past."

District Court judge Sarah Bradley decided not to record convictions against six teenage
attackers and gave three others, aged 17, 18 and 26, suspended sentences over the rape
in October.

The sentences will be appealed and dozens of other sex abuse cases from the Cape reviewed
after the lenient sentences in the gang-rape case were revealed.

The prosecutor in the case, Steve Carter - who described the rape as "a form of childish
experimentation" of which the victim was a willing participant - has also been stood down
pending an internal investigation.

The girl's family speak to her once a week by satellite link because she is housed
in a secret location in north Queensland.

"She sleeps with the light on. She gets jumpy when they get new case workers," her
uncle told The Australian.

The uncle said no authority had contacted the family since the story was reported.

He first heard about it on the radio, and he welcomed the opportunity to speak to the
media.

AAP jlw/cp

KEYWORD: GANG FAMILY

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