Ireland's Eye: What's going on in the old sod

Rapists on the Loose

The distraught aunt of a Kerry teenager at the center of an alleged rape attack has told of her niece’s shocking ordeal.

And she has warned families in the town to be careful to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen to their children or other female relatives.

Gardai (police) are still hunting for six men, aged in their late teens and early twenties, following the reported daylight sexual attack on the 16-year-old girl, which allegedly took place at Rath Cemetery, on the main Tralee to Killarney road, at approximately 9 p.m. on Sunday, June 13.

The girl, described by her aunt as an "extremely innocent, naïve 16-year-old," said she was initially taken to a house near Rath by six men, whom she described as non-Irish but well known in the area, and then to the cemetery where the alleged vicious sex attack took place.

According to the victim’s aunt, who has gone public in the hope that it will help track down the culprits, the girl is still in a state of shock and the family is unsure how long her traumatic ordeal lasted.

"I don’t think that it has quite hit her yet. It’s been a hectic week for her," said the woman, who cannot be identified to protect the privacy of the young victim.

"We’re not too sure as of yet as to how long she was kept. It’s still quite hard for her. She was taken to a house and then to the graveyard by three men who viciously sexually assaulted her.

"She is 16 and certainly did not consent to it. Either way, it is illegal and an extremely serious crime," she remarked.

The girl’s aunt said the teenager’s mother began searching for her when she failed to return home at a pre-arranged time.

"She was due home at nine o’clock that evening. Sometimes she forgets the time, so my sister tried to ring her. When she could not get in touch with her, she went out to look for her

"She saw her coming running, screaming down the road. She told her that this had happened.”

The woman said the men suspected of involvement were still in the area when her sister found her daughter, but they fled the town soon afterwards.

"She knows what direction they went, but by the time the guards got there, they weren’t around," she said.

The teenager’s aunt appealed for witnesses to come forward and contact Gardai and she explained that the alleged attackers are well known in the area. She also claimed that there has been numerous previous attacks in the vicinity.

"Somebody must have seen something because it was in daylight and it was on a very busy main road,” she said.

"People need to be vigilant and mind their daughters and sisters. They should be aware that these people are around.”

The alleged rape victim’s aunt went on to criticize the circumstances of her niece’s subsequent examination at the sexual assault treatment unit in Cork, where she said, the young girl was examined by a male doctor.

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Nster.com