The 5-year-old girl had been left with a family member while her mother underwent a medical procedure on the day when the attack was reported on Sept. 13, her mother said. Charges were announced on Wednesday. (Photo: New York Times)
October 16, 2025
A nine-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl have been charged with attempted murder and rape following an attack on a five-year-old girl in Cleveland, Ohio in the United States (US).
The children are also charged with felonious assault, kidnapping and strangulation following the September incident, according to a CBS News report which cited the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office.
It is reported that the suspects were charged in juvenile court.
The prosecutor’s office said no further information would be released at this time due to the “sensitive nature of this case”, the report said.
However, the victim’s mother said her daughter was beaten, assaulted and “scalped” on September 13 in a field and was “unrecognisable” after the attack.
“What I saw was unbelievable,” she told CBS News. “My daughter was not my daughter. Her hair was scalped from her head. She had bruises and blood all over her body. Her eyes were filled with blood. Her lips and mouth were filled with blood.”
Reports are that her daughter had been dropped off at a family member’s home on the day of the attack and later walked out the front door before being assaulted in the nearby field. When she returned, she reportedly saw her daughter being treated by first responders.
“I literally saw the worst thing ever,” she shared.
The Cleveland police are investigating.
In a Facebook post on October 7th, the police department shared that it wanted to avoid jeopardising the investigation or compromising the privacy and constitutional rights of those involved.
