An unidentified seven-year-old boy is facing third-degree rape charges in New York. Because of his age, he will not be tried as an adult. The incident allegedly occurred on November 26, 2020. The boy was not immediately arrested. The officers investigated the incident and charged him on March 23, 2021. The officers have stated that the case will be taken to family court and handled there.
Anthony Martone is a lawyer who practices in Queens, New York. Many of his cases involve defending people who are under the age of 18. He will be representing the boy in court. He believes that it isn’t possible for a seven-year-old boy to rape anybody. He says that the court has to be able to prove that the boy actually committed the rape, which will be hard to do.
In the state of New York, children who are at least seven years old will be able to be prosecuted as juveniles. There is a bill proposed that will raise this age to 12. The reason that this bill has been proposed is that more children are being arrested. In January, a nine-year-old girl in Rochester was pepper-sprayed by the police. This sparked outrage because people say that the young girl should have not been treated that way.
