Two boys accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl and her then-6-year-old brother could be released from detention and allowed to live with relatives.
A juvenile court judge's decision on Tuesday to allow the accused assailants to leave the Douglas County Youth Center with electronic monitoring devices outraged the father of the two young siblings.
“I thought this (hearing) was just going to be a formality,” the father said. “I can't believe they will be let back into the community.”
Kevin Kennedy, past president of the neighborhood association, said the electronic monitoring isn't enough to protect other young children.
The accused boys, 12 and 13, each are charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault and a child pornography charge in connection with the June 14 assault at a small park in their Deerwood-Avalon neighborhood in northwest Omaha.
Douglas County Juvenile Court Judge Wadie Thomas Jr. ruled that the boys cannot return to the neighborhood, where the siblings also live and tensions are running high. They are expected to move in with relatives outside the neighborhood pending a screening of family members, a process that could be completed in a couple of days.
Thomas also ordered the boys to have no contact with children younger than themselves and to wear electronic ankle bracelets that allow 24-hour GPS monitoring. The boys are to be largely confined to their assigned homes. But the judge said they could leave to attend therapy sessions arranged by their families.
Contact the writer: 402-444-1279, jason.kuiper@owh.com
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