The Torrington High School rape case refers to five separate rape cases in Torrington, Connecticut, United States, involving six former Torrington High School football players and two other Torrington teenagers. [1]
In a 2013 case, Joan Toribio and Edgar Gonzalez, both 18-year-old former football players from Torrington High School, were convicted in the sexual assault of two 13-year-old girls in Torrington, Connecticut. [2] [3] [4] Joan Toribio was sentenced to nine months in prison. [5] Edgar Gonzalez was sentenced to six years in prison. [6]
In a 2011 case, Kenuel Weaver-Hunt, 17, and Dylan Rodriguez, 16, pleaded guilty to charges of risk of injury to a minor with illicit sexual contact, a class "D" felony. [7] Both were sentenced to five years in prison, suspended after four months served. [8] Alec Berkemeier, 16, was charged with second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor with illicit sexual contact, but reached a deal with the prosecutors that included a provision to seal the records of the case. [9]
Torrington High School gained notoriety for its students' victim blaming cyberbullying of the two 13-year-old girls through social media. The Register Citizen, a local newspaper, published images of Twitter posts that defended the accused and attacked the victims. [10] [2] [3] [4] A Houston-based law firm that specializes in defense of those accused of sex crimes claimed a possible failure in responsibility on the part of parents and teachers to make students aware of the legal implications of their actions. [11]