Deaf teens guilty of repeated gang rapes

From: Expatica, Netherlands - Sep 16, 2004

Eight deaf boys with learning difficulties were convicted and sentenced on Thursday to suspended youth detention sentences for repeatedly raping a 14-year-old girl at the Effatha school for the deaf. The court in The Hague sharply criticised the Zoetermeer institute over the case, asserting that it should have maintained better supervision of such a vulnerable group of students. The school failed to give adequate attention to issues of sexuality and disregarded indications of abnormal behaviour. The boys are aged 14 to 16 and the court considered them accountable for their actions. They were sentenced to suspended detention sentences ranging from one to four months. A ninth boy was acquitted. The girl reported the rapes in October 2003 and the case was made public in January 2004.

[Copyright Expatica News 2004]