Memphis in shock after 11yo girl raped on way to school
Parents in a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee were rattled by a report that an 11-year-old girl was snatched on her way to school, raped, and left in a ditch. Police have arrested a man who matches the description of the attacker.
The girl was walking to Geeter Middle School around 7am on Monday, when a blue SUV pulled up.
“He snatched her, put her in the truck, raped her, and then dropped her off over here,” the victim’s mother told local media, referring to the ditch near the intersection of Delta and Mason Roads.
The girl was battered and bruised, but is expected to be okay, the mother said.
Man charged with raping, assaulting 11-year-old girlhttps://t.co/WHoQEhYAF4
— Jim Spiewak (@JimFOX13Memphis) December 6, 2016
On Monday afternoon, police encountered a man matching the description of the attacker. Larry Ward, 20, was arrested and charged with rape, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated assault, Memphis PD spokesman Louis C. Brownlee confirmed to RT.
Police have encouraged parents to ensure that their children walk to school in groups, as this makes it more difficult for potential attackers to strike.
“We never had issues like that over here. Never ever. Not issues about rape. This is like a family community over here,” area resident Thepeleton Richmond told WREG.
Located south of downtown Memphis and just southwest of Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate, Whitehaven is a community of some 50,000 predominantly African-American residents.
