American 'rape victim' Audrie Pott kills herself after attack photos go viral
Three teenage boys have been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a school girl who killed herself after photos of the attack went viral in the latest such tragedy to take place in North America.
Audrie Pott was allegedly raped after passing out at a party in September last
year. She was later humiliated when photos of the assault were posted online
and shared between fellow students.
The 15-year-old committed suicide just eight days later.
Following her family's eight-month struggle for justice, police in North
California said they have now made three arrests. Two of the suspects are
said to be students at Saratoga High School – where Audrie was also a pupil
– with the third detained at another school in Gilroy. All are aged 16.
"After an extensive investigation that we have conducted on behalf of the
family, there is no doubt in our minds that [Audrie] was savagely assaulted
by her fellow high school students while she lay on a bed completely
unconscious," the Pott family attorney stated.
"The family has been trying to understand why their loving daughter would
have taken her life at such a young age and to make sure that those
responsible would be held accountable."
The arrest of the three teenagers comes just days after the death of another
young girl who committed suicide almost two years after she was allegedly
gang-raped.
Rehtaeh Parsons was also just 15 when four boys were said to have sexually assaulted her as she lay passed out at a friend's house in Nova Scotia, Canada. She was severely bullied after photos of the attack spread through her school.
Police have yet to arrest or convict anyone in the case, but Rehteah's subsequent suicide made international headlines and caused an outcry. Nova Scotia's justice minister has since appointed four government departments to look into the case
Last month, two teenage boys were convicted in the rape of a young girl in Steubenville, Ohio. Photos of the naked and unconscious girl were also shared and posted on the internet.
Audrie's parents said they hoped the memory of their daughter will live on through the foundation they started in her name, which provides music and art scholarships.
"She was compassionate about life, her friends, her family, and would never do anything to harm anyone," the site for the foundation says.
"She was in the process of developing the ability to cope with the cruelty of this world but had not quite figured it all out."
Police said the investigation into the attack and her suicide was ongoing
