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By CHRIS SCHNEIDMILLER; Times Leader Staff Writer
Thursday, September 17, 1998 Page: 1A
WILKES-BARRE- A 6-year-old boy tried to force sex on a girl last month
while his 9-year-old brother pinned her to the ground, the girl’s mother told
police.
Police Capt. Robert Mitchell confirmed Wednesday the incident is under
investigation. Officials confirmed the boy’s ages, but would not say whether
they are related.
Investigators plan to meet with Assistant District Attorney Dave Zekoski
next week to decide if charges will be filed against the boys.
“These children are very, very young, so whether or not it can go ahead
remains to be seen. That’s why we need to meet with the District Attorney’s
Office,” Mitchell said.
Gladys Shaffer said the boys assaulted her 7-year-old daughter Aug. 25 on a
pallet placed in a wooded area behind the J&H Concrete Co. along Wilkes-Barre
Boulevard. All three children were naked when Shaffer arrived and heard her
daughter screaming.
A medical examination indicated the girl suffered cuts and bruises to her
back and exterior of her genitals. She told medical personnel at Wilkes-Barre
General Hospital that the 6-year-old boy attempted intercourse.
The girl does not appear to have been raped, according to the hospital’s
sexual assault evidentiary form.
“I don’t even know what to think; I really don’t,” Shaffer said. “All I
know is something’s got to be done about it.”
Shaffer criticized police and prosecutors for what she views as their
indifference and slowness in pursuing the case. A detective told her reports
would only “sit” when sent to the District Attorney’s Office.
Mitchell and Zekoski said the allegation is being taken seriously.
“There’s no feet dragging,” Mitchell said.
Shaffer said her daughter left their Butler Street home at about 3:40 p.m.
on Aug. 25. The girl usually checks in with her mother about every 15 minutes.
When she did not appear by 4 p.m., Shaffer became worried and began looking
for her.
After searching other areas and visiting friends’ homes, Shaffer and
boyfriend Donny Shoemaker arrived at the woods at about 6 p.m.
“When I pulled up, I heard screaming and crying. I jumped out of my car, I
left it running and left the door open and I ran,” Shaffer said. “I saw two
boys jump up from the ground and start running down the railroad tracks. There
my daughter is, crying her heart out.”
Shoemaker caught the boys on the railroad tracks. The couple got all the
children dressed and took them home.
The girl later told Shaffer the boys had stripped her. The older boy held
her down while the younger one assaulted her, she said. Shaffer said the
9-year-old hit her daughter’s 8-year-old cousin when he tried to intervene.
Mitchell and Zekoski said they could not discuss details of the alleged
incident while the investigation continues.
Since the incident, the girl has suffered frequent nightmares and is
undergoing counseling at the Victims’ Resource Center, Shaffer said.
Sexual assault cases in which the suspects are under age 10 are “very
rare,” Zekoski said.
“Even in 6 years, I don’t remember an allegation of sexual assault where
the alleged perpetrators were 6 and 9 years old,” he said.
“Inappropriate sexual behavior” by children is usually the result of
something they have learned or seen, said John Seasock, sexual offense/sexual
assault specialist with the Children’s Service Center in Wilkes-Barre.
“They were exposed to some kind of stimulus; they were taught it somehow,”
he said.
If the investigation finds there was an assault, Zekoski said, he also
needs to determine if the boys had the sexual and mental maturity to form an
intent to commit sexual assault before he files the charge of inappropriate
sexual behavior. If not, simple assault or harassment charges are possible, he
said.
Because of their age, the boys could be removed from their home until age
18 only if found to have committed the assault, Zekoski said. –
Times Leader Law and Order co-team leader Jerry Lynott contributed to this
article.
Chris