Chicago Teens Get 5 Years Probation for Facebook Live Gang Rape

 

Two teenage boys have been sentenced by a Cook County judge to five years probation for raping a 15-year-old girl and broadcasting it on Facebook Live last March. Both boys will also be required to register as sex offenders.

Prosecutors had sought prison sentences for both teens, now 15, in a juvenile detention center.

In delivering the sentence in court Wednesday, judge Patricia Mendoza said having to register as sex offenders would have more of an impact on the young men's lives than doing more time locked up. The teens had already been in a detention center for four months before being released on electronic monitors.

“It’s time for you gentlemen to start adjusting to your new life,” said Mendoza.

The victim, now 16, sat in the rear of the courtroom with her mother during the sentencing.

“The worst part of this is being able to Google my name and seeing everything that happened to me,” the young woman wrote in a victim-impact statement read aloud by the prosecutor, adding that it "has very traumatically altered my life."

While speaking with the Chicago Tribune, the victim's mother (pictured above) divulged that the family has been the target of online mockery and threats since the attack, with some people laughing at what befell her daughter.

Authorities have said that as many as six people raped the young woman, though so far only two have faced prosecution. In October, a third 15-year-old boy was charged in the attack but the case is still pending.