An Ohio mother is pleading with a judge not to show mercy to two children accused of raping, beating, and strangling her 5-year-old daughter in a brutal September attack.
Antavia Kennibrew, the mother of the victim, made an emotional plea in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court on Wednesday, urging the judge not to grant leniency. “This type of behavior doesn’t deserve grace,” Kennibrew said, according to Cleveland.com. She added that her daughter continues to suffer deeply from the trauma, saying, “And that’s how it should be for the offenders.”
A 10-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy have been charged with attempted murder, rape, assault, kidnapping, and strangulation.
The 10-year-old girl appeared in court but remained silent, while her parents did not attend. Her public defender entered a plea of denial on her behalf. The 9-year-old boy missed the hearing, reportedly due to car trouble.
The judge ordered the 10-year-old to home detention with an ankle monitor and requested a competency evaluation, expressing “significant concerns” about her understanding of the charges. The boy’s arraignment was postponed until next week.
According to prosecutors and Kennibrew’s account, the 5-year-old victim was lured away from a family member’s home and taken to a nearby field, where she was raped, beaten, and strangled with her own shirt. Kennibrew told CBS affiliate WOIO that the children “knew what they were doing” and “even played after, not caring about my baby.”
Kennibrew described the horrifying aftermath, saying her daughter’s hair was “scalped” and that she was found unconscious.
Kennibrew shared on social media that several children under 10 were involved, though the Cleveland Division of Police Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit has charged only the two defendants so far.
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