On Tuesday, Chicago police reported that they were looking for five to six men who allegedly sexually assaulted a 15 year old girl, while it was being streamed live on Facebook.
The teen had been missing since Sunday night. The girl’s mother had gone to the police on Monday and approached Sgt. Eddie Johnson as he was leaving a news conference, with a screenshot from the live video of the assault. The girl was then found by Chicago detectives on Tuesday.
It is reported that dozens of people had watched the assault live on Facebook’s live feed but none reported the incident to police. The video has since been removed from the site.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says that “the superintendent was visibly upset when he saw the pictures of the girl and was dismayed when he learned that people were watching the incident live and yet no one called the police.”
Facebook declined to answer direct questions regarding the assault, But they did release a statement saying “Crimes like this are hideous and we do not allow that kind of content on Facebook.” Officials at Facebook also stated that “we take our responsibility to keep people safe on Facebook very seriously and will remove videos that depict sexual assault and are shared to glorify violence.”
Spokesman Guglielmi said that investigators are “making good progress identifying persons of interest” in the assault.
If you or someone you love is suspected of sexual assault, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949)477-8088 for a consultation now.