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CHICAGO POLICE SAID today they were looking for up to six suspects who allegedly raped a teenage girl and broadcast the assault on Facebook Live.
The victim was a 15-year-old girl, who went missing on Sunday in the crime-plagued city in the US Midwest. She was only found yesterday and taken to a children’s hospital for treatment.
It was the latest in a series of troubling incidents in which violent acts have been streamed live on Facebook, including two fatal shootings and the kidnapping and torture of a disabled 18-year-old.
“It’s disgusting. As a father with two daughters, I can’t imagine what that mom is going through,” Chicago’s police chief Eddie Johnson said yesterday.
Johnson became personally involved in the case after the girl’s mother approached him Monday with graphic photos taken from a Facebook Live video, showing several young men assaulting the teen, according to US media.
Authorities said today they were investigating the incident as a criminal sexual assault, and told AFP that no suspects were in custody.
Police would not confirm details of the video, citing the ongoing investigation.
The social networking site declined to comment specifically on the incident, but said in a statement that the company took seriously its “responsibility to keep people safe on Facebook.”
“Crimes like this are hideous and we do not allow that kind of content on Facebook,” the company said.
A man identified as the girl’s uncle told US media that the young men involved, some possibly under the age of 18, were known in the local community.
“They are terrorising that entire neighbourhood,” Reginald King told TV station WGN.
The live online video of the alleged gang rape attracted as many as 40 viewers at one time, but no one contacted police, according to reports. The video was later taken down.
Chicago has been grappling with a surge in violent crime. Last year, the city endured its highest number of shootings and murders in nearly two decades.
Much of the violence is concentrated in a few impoverished areas, including the one where the teenage girl lives.
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Why is Facebook getting away with facilitating these shocking videos?
@Tommy: because they’re too busy taking down breastfeeding pics. Hyperpolitically correct fools. Facebook is so last decade
My God that’s sick. Hope that poor girl can find a way to cope. Facebook live is really open to abuse clearly they are unable to filter/police what people are able to record in a live capacity…not much consolation to a victim of a crime like this that they took it down once notified. Gotta wonder about the 40 people that watched it and didn’t report it. Sad times we live in
@Charlene Vaughan:
Maybe they were in shock or disbelief about the event. How much revenue did Facebook generate from links to this page? How much revenue do they generate from facilitating online abuse annually or other more extreme forms of abuse resulting in suicide and death.
It’s patently obvious that their priority is profit above all else.
Facbook the scourge of entire nations.
Black on black murder in Chicago is out of control .no sign of black lives Mater matching in Chicago over this
They were out protesting systematic poverty and violence in December; probably been out again since.
@Gerard Henry: I’m not racist but…..
It’s not facebooks fault some thug decides to rape. That’s like blaming BMW for having boot space where a kidnap victim could be hidden.
The nature of live broadcasting means it’s going to be nearly impossible to stop a broadcast until after the act.
The one positive I would hope is that it should make it easy to track the thugs who raped the poor girl, and sickos who watched.
@sup: while I agree with your point on the blame culture, there have been far too many Facebook live videos that have gone way too far. I’m well aware of social media and the damage it can cause but if there’s one less platform. I’m all for it.
Facebook needs to stop this! The amount of this bulling is killing people STOP KILLING OUR CHILDREN. …
have your say