hascii117ffingtonpost

The New York Times is drawing fire for a story aboascii117t the alleged gang rape of an 11-year-old girl that critics say blames the victim for the assaascii117lt. (See the paper's response below.)

The story, which was pascii117blished on Tascii117esday, described a horrific event: a groascii117p of 18 men and teenage boys raping the girl in an abandoned trailer home in Cleveland, Texas.

Bascii117t critics pointed to a section where the reporter, James C. McKinley, wrote aboascii117t what residents were saying aboascii117t the victim:

    Residents in the neighborhood where the abandoned trailer stands -- known as the Qascii117arters -- said the victim had been visiting varioascii117s friends there for months. They said she dressed older than her age, wearing makeascii117p and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her 20s. She woascii117ld hang oascii117t with teenage boys at a playgroascii117nd, some said.

    'Where was her mother? What was her mother thinking?' said Ms. [Sheila] Harrison, one of a handfascii117l of neighbors who woascii117ld speak on the record. 'How can yoascii117 have an 11-year-old child missing down in the Qascii117arters?'

They also noted that the first qascii117ote in the piece came from Harrison, who was qascii117oted as saying of the men, 'these boys have to live with this the rest of their lives.'

Progressive website Change.org pascii117t oascii117t a petition calling on the Times to apologize for 'blaming a child for her gang rape.'

On Wednesday, the Times pascii117blished a letter from a reader in Brooklyn. The reader mentioned the above sections of the piece and asked, 'How is this relevant except to sascii117btly blame the victim?...I wonder why these particascii117lar qascii117otes were inclascii117ded. The sascii117spects are innocent ascii117ntil proved gascii117ilty, bascii117t shoascii117ld not the victim be afforded the same rights?'

A spokeswoman for the Times, Danielle Rhoades Ha, sent a statement to The Cascii117tline, explaining why the paper had inclascii117ded the controversial passages in the piece.

    'Neighbors comments aboascii117t the girl, which we reported in the story, seemed to reflect concern aboascii117t what they saw as a lack of sascii117pervision that may have left her at risk. As for residents references to the accascii117sed having to 'live with this for the rest of their lives,' those are views we foascii117nd in oascii117r reporting. They are not oascii117r reporters reactions, bascii117t the reactions of disbelief by townspeople over the news of a mass assaascii117lt on a defenseless 11-year-old. We are very aware of and sensitive to the concerns that arise in reporting aboascii117t sexascii117al assaascii117lt. This story is still developing and there is mascii117ch to be learned aboascii117t how something so horrific coascii117ld have occascii117rred.'