Girl reports gang rape at Aala Street park
The 11-year-old student allegedly was attacked by boys she knows
SEVERAL BOYS allegedly raped an 11-year-old girl in a downtown park Tuesday night, according to Honolulu police.
Police said yesterday they are investigating the first-degree sexual assault and third-degree assault of the girl at Beretania Community Park on Aala Street between 7:45 and 8:05 p.m.
According to police, the girl was playing at the park when some boys, whom she knew, sexually assaulted her. One of the teenagers punched her, police said.
However, Steven Rodrigues said his 11-year-old daughter was walking straight home with the alleged victim from an evening school event at Central Intermediate School.
Rodrigues said his daughter and her friend were simply walking home, and her friend "ended up in a gang rape."
Rodrigues' daughter, who spoke to the Star-Bulletin with her father's permission, said she saw a boy she knows grab her friend and drag her to the slide.
"At first I thought it was a game, but then I heard her scream. It was like someone was really doing something bad to her, like a murder," she said.
"He started kissing her and touching her and unzipped her pants," she said. He then called five other boys, and they assaulted her, too, said the girl.
One boy "cracked her in the face three times," the friend of the alleged victim said.
"She was crying and screaming. I went up the slide to see, and they kept pushing me away."
Four of the boys attend Central Intermediate School and range in age from about 11 to 13, while one attends Kawananakoa Middle School and another attends McKinley High School, the friend said.
Police, however, did not specify how many were involved and only said the suspects were approximately 15 years old.
Rodrigues, a single parent, said he is familiar with the suspects, alleging that they often drink beer.
He said his daughter is aware of what was happening and knows her friend was raped.
"I felt scared that it happened to her because that's my really close friend," the girl said.
Police had not reported making any arrests in the case as of last night.