Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Father beaten for protecting daugther from sexual assault

Out of Minnesota:

The father of a 12-year-old girl who tried to keep a young man from groping his daughter at a popular Shakopee amusement park was seriously hurt late on July 4 after he was allegedly kicked and stomped by a group of men in an attack police called "brutal."

The attack on the unnamed man, which happened just outside Valleyfair Amusement Park, resulted in charges against at least six Twin Cities-area men. They were among several people the initial attacker called on his cell phone to summon them to join the assault.

The group beat up the father as his wife and daughter looked on, police said. The man was seriously injured and unconscious when police arrived.

"We see assaults, but that's brutal," Shakopee police Sgt. Jay Arras said.

Arras said the man and his family were leaving Valleyfair shortly before midnight on July 4 when a man "tried to grab the 12-year-old girl in a sexual manner" near the park exit, the father later told police.

They caught the attackers and six men and a 14 year old boy are being charged with third-degree felony assault charges. The father is recovering, but doctors aren't sure how extensive the damage is and are waiting until his swelling goes down.

I'm with Feministing - there are just too many horrific stories about sexual violence, harassment, racism and hatred today.

2 comments:

Amelia said...

My ex-boyfriend works at Valleyfair...

This is gross..

lindsay said...

I've been bugging my mom to come visit so we can go to Valleyfair, but now I'm hoping we can ride the rides without the molestation.