There hasn't been much information shared about this case, but it's captured the attention of a global audience. Investigators are keeping their findings close to the chest in upstate New York after they charged a seven-year-old with third-degree rape. According to multiple reports, the New York Police Department was alerted of an incident that occurred on Thanksgiving Day last year. The Watertown Daily Times reported that authorities haven't delivered details, but they did confirm the child's age.
“Instinctually, it shouldn’t happen to a 7-year-old. I don’t think you could even realize what you’re doing at 7 years old, so I think it’s absurd to charge a 7-year-old with rape,” Anthony Martone, an attorney told WWNY-TV. “They’d have to prove he actually physically committed this act, which to me, it almost seems to be an impossibility.”
The minimum age to be charged in New York is seven, but there is reportedly a bill on the books to change that age to 12. Details regarding the alleged victim in this case is unknown, as is the nature of the event and the relationship between the seven-year-old and the alleged victim. The public has conversed about this charge, some citing that the seven-year-old is too young to know what he's doing while others haven't dismissed the possibility that the child could have sexually assaulted someone. Let us know your thoughts about this developing case.
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