Six year old nearly raped

[Corvis Canis Latrans]

I'm immensely glad she managed to escape....curious about details of how she managed to, though:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090628/ap_on_re_us/us_girl_kidnapped

I wonder what the full circumstances were though.

Unless by out riding her bike meant in the yard or on the street in view of her parents, I think the parents might be slightly at fault here, too. While I walked to school in kindergarten, there was only a block between my babysitter's house and the school, and it was a very small town where everyone knew everyone, and people were out and about at that time of day to witness if anything happened.

Don't know how big Hanover is, but seems to me that she was a bit young to be riding her bike around by herself....8 or 9 I can see, and think is typically fine, but 6?

At any rate, just glad that things turned out OK.

CCL

[Lunacie]

It can depend on the kid and their level of maturity, also on the type of neighborhood. However, I agree that 6 is most likely too young to be riding by herself except up and down the sidewalk on her own block.

Even then, it sounds like this guy lives on the same block, maybe in the same apartment building.

[Nicholas]

I hope self inflicted wounds actually means tasered within an inch of his life.

[Ariste]

yeah i used to live in an apartment complex one building would have 3 entrances and each entrance lead to 12 apartments. We used to see 4 year olds out on the sidewalk on their trikes. Here we live in townhomes and Tana goes in and out of the neighbors almost as freely as our house.

[gypsywoman]

Remember when we all used to play outside with no worries??

Maybe the parents/babysitter/whoever wasn't watching close enough, but still.

Just sad really...

[Raven Reed]

Ah, I remember back in the day, you were thrown out the door during daylight hours and allowed back in for bathroom breaks, water and major emergencies... I remember being set loose to wander the neighborhood at that age.


Remember when we all used to play outside with no worries??

Maybe the parents/babysitter/whoever wasn't watching close enough, but still.

Just sad really...

[Lavender Rainflower]

It is sad, but I can remember riding my bike up and down the street but our babysitter had to be out with us, I was like nine or ten before I could go around the corner. I'm 23 and when I ride my bike every day my mom makes me take my phone and pepper spray.
I happy everything turned out ok

[Nicholas]

From 6 up I went out unsupervised I did have limits on where I could go until I was about 12.. but by the time I was 10 I was breaking those everyday.

[Corvis Canis Latrans]

From 6 up I went out unsupervised I did have limits on where I could go until I was about 12.. but by the time I was 10 I was breaking those everyday.

The question is though, where did you live, what were the circumstances? As I stated, so was I (rereading, OK I didn't state that outright), but the circumstances were such that there would have been witnesses if anything went wrong.

Everyone knew everyone and the questionable people were watched.

Now, hell, I don't know any of my neighbors by name, and in a conversation in the laundry room the lady who lives below me said the same thing. We don't live in a bad neighborhood to my knowledge, but we certainly don't know anyone well enough to make any kind of hypothesis about trust or safety.

Trust and safety can't be assumed in most places anymore. And it's proven time and again sadly that the opposite must be assumed....:(

[AutumnWitchie]

I love how it's always the victim's fault when a rape/attempted rape occurs. I guess it was MY fault that I saw my grandmother raped by a "family friend" when I was 4 years old. I guess I should have run away(kinda hard to do when someone has put a gun in your face and told you to sit down and shut up). I guess it was my grandmother's fault for opening the door to a "friend". Curse those weak-willed victims. Guess they'll know better next time.

[Corvis Canis Latrans]

I love how it's always the victim's fault when a rape/attempted rape occurs. I guess it was MY fault that I saw my grandmother raped by a "family friend" when I was 4 years old. I guess I should have run away(kinda hard to do when someone has put a gun in your face and told you to sit down and shut up). I guess it was my grandmother's fault for opening the door to a "friend". Curse those weak-willed victims. Guess they'll know better next time.

I'm sorry about what happened to you, but where did you get this idea from anything said here?

All that (some of us) said is that it's a sad world we live in and the parents possibly should have been more alert, though I certainly acknowledged that we didn't know enough of the situation to say that for a fact.

No one ever implied in any way shape or form that it was the child's fault.

[AutumnWitchie]

I wonder what the full circumstances were though.

Unless by out riding her bike meant in the yard or on the street in view of her parents, I think the parents might be slightly at fault here, too. While I walked to school in kindergarten, there was only a block between my babysitter's house and the school, and it was a very small town where everyone knew everyone, and people were out and about at that time of day to witness if anything happened.

Don't know how big Hanover is, but seems to me that she was a bit young to be riding her bike around by herself....8 or 9 I can see, and think is typically fine, but 6?

CCL

The bolded part is simular to things I've heard about my parents for allowing me to stay the night at my grandmother's the night of and after the rape(as if the rape tainted my grandmother somehow). Trust me, the parents will have enough guilt without anyone speculating whether the parents were "at fault". My parents didn't even know what had happened that night. My grandmother called one of my uncles afterwards. His girlfriend dropped me off at my parents' house and told them that my grandmother was sick and had to go to the hospital. They didn't know what had happened until I started talking. To this day I remember the whispers and rumors or all the well meaning folks.

[Raven Reed]

Ya know, when you are a parent it is a huge case of "damned if you, damned if you don't..." For every time you hear someone say the parents should have been more responsible, I got accused of being over-protective. Seriously, it got annoying.

On the other hand, number of times my sons were molested = 0. Number of times my sons were kidnapped = 0. Number of hospital visits from severe traumas, etc. = 0. Drug use/ pregnant girls/ times bailing my sons out of jail = 0. So I guess I will go with being overprotective was okay.

[Philosophia]

Ya know, when you are a parent it is a huge case of "damned if you, damned if you don't..." For every time you hear someone say the parents should have been more responsible, I got accused of being over-protective. Seriously, it got annoying.

:uhhuhuh: I've noticed that to.

[watersprite]

It's a strange story.

[HiccupingBat]

That's terrible. I too remember when it was safe to go out as a little kid and just enjoy the day.

I'm so glad she escaped!