Apparently the nausea-inducing sympathy expressed by residents of Cleveland, Texas, for the large group of men accused of raping an 11-year-old girl  as reported in a controversial New York Times story  is fairly widespread in the town.



A meeting Thursday night that was billed as a way to discuss concerns some have about the investigation into a series of alleged sexual assaults on an 11-year-old girl turned into a forum that many used to blame the girl police contend is the victim of heinous attacks. Many who attended the meeting said they supported the group of men and boys who have been charged in the case. Supporters didn’t claim that the men and boys did not have sex with the young girl; instead they blamed the girl for the way she dressed or claimed she must have lied about her age.

It gets worse, though. The leader of the meeting, Quanell X, “an activist prominent in Houston’s black community,” questioned why an 11-year-old who had been raped by the entire town “didn’t report the attack to authorities herself.” Come on, little girl, don’t be shy!

Mr. X was also apparently more concerned with why “only young black men had been arrested” than why so many young black men felt it was okay to participate in a gang rape of a young girl. Priorities?

And finally, there’s the woman who, while she’s totally “not taking nobody’s side,” is pretty sure the 11-year-old “wanted this to happen.”

If Cleveland, Texas, is suddenly consumed by fire and brimstone, you’ll know why.

Some in Texas town blaming young girl in assault [AP via Chron]