East St. Louis Police head off fight between families of alleged rapist and accuser
East St. Louis police headed off a confrontation between relatives of an alleged rapist and the family of his accuser.
Officers were dispatched to a house on North 78th Street after one of its residents called to report that the group was on its way to prevent the underage girl from reporting the alleged sexual assault, said Police Sgt. Cantrell Patterson.
Officers were told the group were “relatives of the male suspect who were upset that the alleged female victim was going to tell about the rape,” Patterson said.
An adult at the residence told police that the rape occurred on Mother’s Day at the home of the alleged attacker’s friend.
“The adult said the juvenile victim knew the 19-year old male who attacked her,” Patterson said. “The adult said she took the juvenile victim to a clinic and a doctor confirmed the victim had been raped and told her to report it to police.”
Police did not confirm how many were part of the group that confronted the girl, if any violence occurred, or if anyone was injured.
The suspect has not been arrested, pending ongoing investigation.
