7-Year-Old Charged With Third-Degree Rape, Lawyer Calls Incident “Absurd”

A 7-year-old from Brasher Falls, New York, has been charged with third-degree rape that was reported on Thanksgiving.

According to state police, the unidentified child was cited and released. The case will be handled in family court.

The New York City attorney, who handles youth defense cases, states, “Instinctually, it shouldn’t happen that a 7-year old – I don’t think you even could really realize what you’re doing at 7 years old. So I think it’s absurd to charge a 7-year-old with rape. They’d have to prove he actually physically committed this act, which to me it almost seems to be an impossibility.”

The 7-year-old is being charged as a juvenile delinquent. A bill pending in Albany would change the minimum age for being charged as a juvenile delinquent from 7 to 12.