Justice for a 16 yrs. old disabled rape victim

Dear Governor,

Please, I urge you to please hear me out. This is of the utmost importance concerning justice, and the right to be safe in our schools.

My name is Julio Alberto Penaloza and I'm 18 years old. I am trying to contain my anger as I send this to you and I can only hope from the bottom of my heart that this gets to you and you start to ensure the rights of every child in our nation's schools.

A 16 year old girl with delayed development was recently raped in front of an audience of a few dozen students in the city of Columbus, Ohio. She was dragged out and dozens watched while she was forced to strip off her clothes and give oral sex to two unsavory 16 year old boys. When she tried to make them stop she was beaten into submission while someone video taped this depravity. She was left a broken, confused; violated girl after police arrived, having been forced to give oral sex to at least 2 of the boys.

She was innocent, she didn't deserve this, and no one does. I am urging you that you try to use your influence to make sure these kids are brought to trial for ALL of their crimes and not left off the hook for a scrap or bit or inch of what they have perpetrated today... they have ruined an innocent girl's life.

The school she goes to didn't even want her to even call the police for fear of bad press.
From the article itself:

"The girl's father demanded that school officials call the police. Mr. Watson said, 'No we don't want to do that, we don't want the police,"' Upshaw told the investigator."

I think it says alot about how rape is taken lightly in America's school systems when the AP was trying to sweep it under the rug in fear of bad publicity to the school. Bad Publicity took priority over a innocent girl being beaten and raped and I say this will not stand.

I've luckily never had the misfortune of this happening to someone I know or someone I care about but this goes to show that it very well can. Recently, there was a publicity blitz over Terry Schiavo's right to live but what good is living without justice? What good is living if your very rights as a human being can be taken away from you and violated in such a way? Doesnt' Terry's case prove that no matter what position you are in , no matter how low you may seem, that your cry for help will not fall on deaf ears? America will give you a fair trial in the pursuit of justice and deliver that same justice to the best of its ability.

I'm begging you make sure these kids are brought in to a fair trial to face the consequences of their actions. Personally, I hope this makes an example out of them, this is a society; this is AMERICA... where no matter how small, poor, or lowly you are... you are given your rights to live and NO ONE can take them away.

I hope you do something but if you don't I will tell you right now that me and all the other supporters will not stop here. I at least, will not stop until something is done about this and I will make sure this girl has her justice so she can look upon her fellow man with trust and happiness again. You may wonder why I care so much, but this is because I care about America, I care about everyone and I will not rest until we take our rights back. Some may say it isn't my business but I'd tell them right to their faces that Im MAKING it my business.

Me and the many people who are supporting this cause are here to tell you something must be done.

This entire situation is simply not right and we are here to say that we cannot allow this to happen again in our very own schools, the schools we once thought were so "safe".

As for the article here it is in its entirety:

http://www.ktvu.com/news/4374533/detail.html

"Police: Dozens Watch As Student Forced To Perform Sex Act
Officials Say Student Videotaped Abuse

UPDATED: 6:32 am PDT April 13, 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Police say several students witnessed the sexual abuse of a girl at a Columbus high school.

A 16-year-old student with developmental delays said she was dragged into the auditorium of Mifflin High School, punched and forced to perform oral sex on at least two male students while more than a dozen other students were called in to watch.

One student reportedly videotaped the sex acts, WCMH-TV in Columbus reported.

A student witness reported hearing an attacker warn, "If you scream, I'll have my boys punch you."

The same witness said the girl then dropped to her knees after she was punched in the face.

Students scattered when help was called, officials said.

During the attack, one witness looked for a school security guard but could not find anyone, he told investigators.

"We went back to the auditorium; the victim was 'butt naked,"' the witness said, and someone "was on top of her."

The attackers then ran from the scene, and witnesses helped the girl get dressed before taking her to a security employee, who is not a police officer.

Mifflin High School officials who found her bleeding from the mouth March 9 did not call police, and an assistant principal cautioned the girl's father against calling 911 because the media might get involved, according to statements from school officials obtained by The Columbus Dispatch. But the girl's father insisted on calling police and contacted them later that afternoon.

Special education teacher Julie Calvario said the girl told her about the incident.

"(She said) she was scared and told him to stop, but he hit her in the head and told her to be quiet," Calvario said.

Even after administrators were alerted to the alleged criminal act, they did not call police, or the victim's father, WCMH reported.

More than an hour later, teacher Lisa Upshaw called the girl's father. Upshaw said that when the girl's father arrived, assistant principal Richard Watson would not call the police.

The girl's father demanded that school officials call the police.

"Mr. Watson said, 'No we don't want to do that, we don't want the police,"' Upshaw told the investigator.

In his statement, Watson said he told the father to "go ahead and call," but not to call 911 because the "news channel might tape his daughter and cause her further mental trauma."

Richard Watson is one of three assistant principals suspended for 10 days. Principal Regina Crenshaw will likely lose her job, WCMH reported.

The girl's father called police after Upshaw told him, "This is child abuse. She needs medical attention and this is wrong."

WCMH reported that Upshaw also told the girl's father that he needed to take the victim to the hospital and that she was a walking crime scene.

Administrators reportedly warned the father that if police were called, the news media would follow, WCMH reported.

Police said they now have the videotape and the investigation continues, although no charges have been filed so far.

Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed"

Our human rights are something that should never be taken away from us, show this girl that there are people out there that care and not everyone is like the 20+ students that watched her be violated like she was worth nothing at all. We will not stand by and watch her be violated we WILL do something!

I can only hope you do try and do something Governor. What you do today will may greatly affect the outcome of this case. In turn, the lives of this generation and the next will be greatly affected by what you choose to do or not to do if anything at all. The school system will probably try not to get involved and try to divert attention away from the situation for fear of bad press however I am asking you to do the opposite so this case gets the attention it deserves. All I can do is hope for the best outcome from this horrible situation. It's your responsibility as a one of our nation's leaders to help pave the way for a better tomorrow. I ask of you to please do so now.