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New York State Police said that the unidentified boy in St. Lawrence County from Brasher Falls, located about 15 miles east of Potsdam, has been charged as a juvenile delinquent with third-degree rape after being charged on Tuesday, March 23.
The incident reportedly happened over the Thanksgiving holiday.
After being temporarily taken into custody, the child was cited for the rape and released to his parents. The case is heading to Family Court.
Police said that the investigation into the incident is ongoing, though a New York City attorney that works with a group that handles youth defense cases called the charge “absurd.”
“Instinctually, it shouldn’t happen that a 7-year-old - I don’t think you even could really realize what you’re doing at 7 years old,” Queens Defenders Felony Youth Defense Director Anthony Martone said to an upstate news outlet.
“So I think it’s absurd to charge a 7-year-old with rape. They’d have to prove he actually physically committed this act, which to me, almost seems to be an impossibility.”
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