HollyMatkinCook County, IL – Two teen boys who gang-raped a 15-year-old girl and streamed the assault live on Facebook were sentenced to five years of probation on Wednesday.
Cook County Judge Patricia Mendoza had already told the boys they would receive the light sentence when they pleaded guilty to child pornography in November, 2017, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Additional charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault and manufacture of child pornography were dismissed by prosecutors as part of the teens’ November plea agreement.
The unnamed victim went missing on Mar. 19, 2017, after her uncle dropped her off at home. Her mother learned about the video of her daughter’s sexual assault the following day, and provided Ogden District police with screenshots from the recording.
As many as six males assaulted the girl, investigators said.
According to police, approximately 40 viewers tuned in to watch the live stream of her rape, and none of them called police, the Herald & Review reported.
The victim’s mother said that people have taunted and threatened her daughter since the assault, and that she has lost lifelong friends, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The girl, now 16 years old, provided a victim’s impact statement for the court’s consideration, which was read out loud by the prosecutor.
“The worst part of this is being able to Google my name and seeing everything that happened to me,” she wrote, adding that the assault “has very traumatically altered my life.”
Although prosecutors recommended prison sentences for the boys, who are now both 15 years old, Mendoza decided that the four months they had spent in custody was sufficient.
“It’s time for you gentlemen to start adjusting to your new life,” Mendoza said.
The teens will be required to register as sex offenders for at least 10 years, which Mendoza noted could have more repercussions for the boys than additional jail time. They were also ordered to comply with any recommended treatment.
According to the Chicago Tribune, both teens offered “brief” apologies to the victim at their sentencing hearing.
“I’m sorry for what I did and I will never to it again,” one of her rapists told her.
A third 15-year-old boy was also charged with sexual assault, and his case is still pending.