A 7-year-old boy has been charged with rape in the state of New York, local outlet WWNY reported.
State police did not release much information but did confirm that the boy, who has remained anonymous, was charged with third-degree rape on March 23, according to WWNY.
7-year-old New York boy charged with rape https://t.co/AWZlwtCJ7P pic.twitter.com/8EaaZSZcoI
— New York Post (@nypost) March 31, 2021
The boy was charged with the crime in relation to an incident on Thanksgiving Day in 2020, WWNY reported. Authorities said the investigation is still ongoing but the boy was arrested, charged and has since been released, according to the outlet. The case will continue to unfold in Family Court. (RELATED: ‘Harry Potter’ Actress Jessie Cave Claims She Was Raped By Her Tennis Instructor At Age 14)
Anthony Martone, an attorney with the group Queens Defenders that works on youth defense cases, told WWNY the charge was “absurd.”
“Instinctually, it shouldn’t happen that a 7-year-old—and I don’t think you even could really realize what you’re doing at 7-years-old. So I think it’s absurd to charge a 7-year-old with rape. They’d have to prove he actually physically committed this act, which to me it almost seems to be an impossibility,” Martone told WWNY.
CONTROVERSIAL CASE: A 7-year-old boy in New York is being investigated in a rape case #8NNhttps://t.co/5n4bk2M573
— 8 News NOW (@8NewsNow) March 31, 2021
Martone also told the outlet it appears the boy is being charged as a juvenile delinquent. New York state is considering legislation that would increase the minimum age to be charged as a juvenile delinquent from seven to 12-years-old.