the nyt has a fairly in depth article

on the 11 year old texas girl who was repeatedly gang raped (and a great portion of the town blamed the 11 year old)

in a previous times article (and other articles), i sure didn't like the tone or the attitude (rather hard ON THE ELEVEN YEAR OLD GIRL, not balanced. pointing fingers AT THE ELEVEN YEAR OLD GIRL)

this one is a fraction better. i mean only the SLIGHTEST fraction better. it still doesn't get to the meat of the issue. it still doesn't DEFEND THE ELEVEN YEAR OLD GIRL. that to me is beyond wrong

3-Month Nightmare Emerges in Rape Inquiry

By JAMES C. McKINLEY and ERICA GOODE

CLEVELAND, Tex. — A year ago, the 11-year-old girl who the police say was the victim of repeated gang rapes in this East Texas town was an outgoing honor roll student, brimming with enthusiasm, who went on hikes and planted trees with a youth group here. 

“She has always been a really bubbly child,” said Brenda Myers, director of the Community and Children’s Impact Center, who worked with her. “She always had a smile on her face.”

But in October, just after starting sixth grade, the girl became withdrawn, Ms. Myers said, and in November, she stopped attending the center’s meetings.

What happened during those months is the subject of a criminal investigation that has sent waves of shock and sorrow through this impoverished town and has provoked anger across the nation.

The police say the girl was raped on at least six occasions, from Sept. 15 to Dec. 3. Nineteen boys and men, ages 14 to 27, have been charged in connection with the rapes, the most recent arrest last Wednesday.

Court documents and dozens of interviews over several weeks with the girl’s family, her friends and neighbors, as well as those who know the defendants, provide a more complete picture of what occurred as well as a deeper portrait of the victim. What begins to emerge is the nightmarish ordeal of a young girl over two and a half months involving an eclectic group of young men, some with criminal records, who shared a powerful neighborhood bond.............