Seven-Year-Old Child Charged with Rape in New York

New York authorities confirmed that a seven-year-old boy was charged with third-degree rape on March 23.

A seven-year-old — whose identity remains concealed due to his age — has been charged with rape after a “sex offense complaint” reported on Thanksgiving 2020. Police said the young Brasher Falls resident was cited and released, and the case will be heard in Family Court.

Speaking to WWNY News, “Queens Defenders” Felony Youth Defense Unit Director Anthony Martone called the case “absurd.”

“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,” he said. “They’d have to prove he actually physically committed this act, which to me, it almost seems to be an impossibility.”

In New York State, children can be charged as a juvenile delinquent as young as seven, though pending state legislation looks to raise the minimum age to 12. Both New York and Connecticut share the current minimum age for juvenile delinquency, only outdone by North Carolina, where the minimum age to be charged is just six years old.