Police in Moreno Valley, Calif., have arrested seven teens and one 19-year-old for allegedly gang-raping an 11-year-old girl in a park bathroom. The victim says she was about to get on a bus when a 15-year-old girl asked if she wanted to hang out at a nearby shopping center. The girl agreed, but when they got there they instead met with several boys in the parking lot, who took the girl to a nearby park, and allegedly assaulted her inside the restroom, the Daily Beast reports. Though her assailants warned the girl against telling anyone about the incident, she immediately went home and alerted her mother, who contacted police.
Police had little difficulty tracking down the alleged culprits. “The boys were claiming Southside Mafia,” a policeman said, referring to a gang, comprised mostly of teens, who prefer skinny jeans, skateboards, and Mariners hats to traditional gang wear. "They are a hybrid," said the officer. "Some of them appear to be nerds." The cops "knew the members, so it was a matter of narrowing it down." The event comes on the heels of the gang-rape of another 11-year-old by teens and adults in Texas, but the two crimes are unrelated. (More gang rape stories.)