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| Public Outcry in Utah After Four Men Are Accused of Raping 9-Year-Old | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Four men accused of a vicious rape. A victim who is just 9 years old. And a mother who had left her alone so she could smoke methamphetamine nearby. | Four men accused of a vicious rape. A victim who is just 9 years old. And a mother who had left her alone so she could smoke methamphetamine nearby. |
| As the police described the case of a rape at a northeastern Utah home, its horrifying details have shaken the small city where the attack unfolded and have reverberated far beyond, with some even calling for vigilante justice. | As the police described the case of a rape at a northeastern Utah home, its horrifying details have shaken the small city where the attack unfolded and have reverberated far beyond, with some even calling for vigilante justice. |
| According to the Utah County Sheriff’s Department, the girl had fallen asleep on a couch at the house of her mother’s friend on March 27 in Vernal, a city of about 9,000 people about 170 miles from Salt Lake City. As the girl’s mother was in the garage smoking drugs, four men at the house took the girl into another room and raped her, the authorities said. | |
| In the days that followed, Larson RonDeau, 36; Josiah RonDeau, 20; Jerry Flatlip, 29; and Randall Flatlip, 26, were arrested one by one and locked up in the county jail. | In the days that followed, Larson RonDeau, 36; Josiah RonDeau, 20; Jerry Flatlip, 29; and Randall Flatlip, 26, were arrested one by one and locked up in the county jail. |
| The men made their first appearance in district court on Tuesday on charges of felony rape and sodomy of a child, G. Mark Thomas, the county attorney, said in an emailed statement. They did not enter a plea, but each has maintained his innocence in statements to investigators. | The men made their first appearance in district court on Tuesday on charges of felony rape and sodomy of a child, G. Mark Thomas, the county attorney, said in an emailed statement. They did not enter a plea, but each has maintained his innocence in statements to investigators. |
| Local news reports about the case generated a furious outcry, leading the sheriff’s department to take the unusual step of appealing for calm as some people on social media suggested ways for the men to be killed. | Local news reports about the case generated a furious outcry, leading the sheriff’s department to take the unusual step of appealing for calm as some people on social media suggested ways for the men to be killed. |
| “The interest and concern over the case of victimization of a nine-year-old girl in our county has been overwhelming and unprecedented,” the department said in a statement on its Facebook page. “Occasionally there are incidents that we face that are shocking to the conscience, and this case has certainly been one of those for us all.” | “The interest and concern over the case of victimization of a nine-year-old girl in our county has been overwhelming and unprecedented,” the department said in a statement on its Facebook page. “Occasionally there are incidents that we face that are shocking to the conscience, and this case has certainly been one of those for us all.” |
| “It has not been our intent to ‘try the case’ in the media or fuel hateful speech or actions,” the sheriff’s department added. “Again, we thank you for your amazing compassion and concern, and we understand the outrage felt as a community, and as human beings.” | “It has not been our intent to ‘try the case’ in the media or fuel hateful speech or actions,” the sheriff’s department added. “Again, we thank you for your amazing compassion and concern, and we understand the outrage felt as a community, and as human beings.” |
| Mr. Thomas, who was in court on Tuesday, said the four men were held pending bail hearings. If found guilty, they could face minimum 25-year mandatory prison sentences for each count, with an additional five years for acting with two or more persons. The maximum sentence is life in prison. | Mr. Thomas, who was in court on Tuesday, said the four men were held pending bail hearings. If found guilty, they could face minimum 25-year mandatory prison sentences for each count, with an additional five years for acting with two or more persons. The maximum sentence is life in prison. |
| “We are deeply bothered anytime a child is abused,” Mr. Thomas said. “This case is particularly troublesome because the allegation is that the child was abused by multiple adults simultaneously. Our office will work to pursue some form of justice.” | “We are deeply bothered anytime a child is abused,” Mr. Thomas said. “This case is particularly troublesome because the allegation is that the child was abused by multiple adults simultaneously. Our office will work to pursue some form of justice.” |
| The girl was taken into state custody after the attack, the authorities said. | The girl was taken into state custody after the attack, the authorities said. |
| According to court documents, the girl’s mother said she had gone to the house of a friend, whom she had become acquainted with in jail, to spend Easter weekend. After disappearing into the garage with her for about 30 minutes, the mother returned to find her daughter “upset,” with her dress “pulled up past her waist.” | According to court documents, the girl’s mother said she had gone to the house of a friend, whom she had become acquainted with in jail, to spend Easter weekend. After disappearing into the garage with her for about 30 minutes, the mother returned to find her daughter “upset,” with her dress “pulled up past her waist.” |
| The mother told investigators that she called a taxi and returned with the girl to their apartment. The next day, after her daughter told her about the rape and that one of the men threatened to kill her if she told anyone, the woman called the police. | The mother told investigators that she called a taxi and returned with the girl to their apartment. The next day, after her daughter told her about the rape and that one of the men threatened to kill her if she told anyone, the woman called the police. |
| The girl told investigators that the men had taken turns raping her twice, holding her down by her hands, before putting her back on the couch, the statement said. | The girl told investigators that the men had taken turns raping her twice, holding her down by her hands, before putting her back on the couch, the statement said. |
| A Facebook statement by the sheriff’s department on April 3 became an outlet for public rage over the case, drawing more than 2,000 comments. Some called for the girl’s mother to be charged and for the men to be publicly hanged, castrated, thrown into a pit to “suffer,” or to be shot by firing squad. | A Facebook statement by the sheriff’s department on April 3 became an outlet for public rage over the case, drawing more than 2,000 comments. Some called for the girl’s mother to be charged and for the men to be publicly hanged, castrated, thrown into a pit to “suffer,” or to be shot by firing squad. |
| “I say let them loose and let the community handle them,” one person wrote. “Even the death penalty is too tame for them. They need to feel pain.” | “I say let them loose and let the community handle them,” one person wrote. “Even the death penalty is too tame for them. They need to feel pain.” |
| On Sunday, Fox 13, a news channel in Salt Lake City, interviewed the grandmother of the girl, giving only her first name to protect the child’s identity. | On Sunday, Fox 13, a news channel in Salt Lake City, interviewed the grandmother of the girl, giving only her first name to protect the child’s identity. |
| “I want hard-core punishment for what they have done to this child, because that shouldn’t happen to anybody,” the grandmother, Elizabeth, said. | “I want hard-core punishment for what they have done to this child, because that shouldn’t happen to anybody,” the grandmother, Elizabeth, said. |