A 10-year-old girl was arrested for the alleged rape of a 4-year-old boy in Houston, but the mother of girl says the incident was innocent.

“She was just being a child, having fun and playing,” the mom told KHOU. “She didn’t know she was doing anything wrong.”

The girl has been charged with raping the boy in their apartment complex, the mother said. Houston police confirmed the incident was reported in April and an arrest was made last week.

“Me and my mom were crying and then she took me to the police car,” the 10-year-old girl said. “I didn’t want to get in.”

Added her mom: “Just to see her looking through those bars screaming for me to get her out was a nightmare.”

The girl was transported to a downtown juvenile justice complex, where she was fingerprinted, issued a jumpsuit and locked in a cell. She was there for four days before being released.

With no attorney, activist Quanell X, the head of the New Black Panther party in Houston, has stepped in to defend her.

“This was nothing more than inappropriate horseplay,” Quanell X said. “That’s what this was. That’s gone a little bit too far and criminalizing a 10-year-old child.”

The girl’s mother would not say whether her daughter did actually commit a crime. If convicted, she would have to register as a sex offender.

“I’m not saying that she didn’t,” the mom said. “I’m not saying she did, but she’s still a child.”