A 14-year-old girl who was “raped multiple times by up to ten children aged 11 to 16” was taken to a park by her boyfriend on more than one occasion to be “borrowed” for sexual assault, with the attacks were filmed on their cell phones.”

• The public prosecutor’s office arrested ten suspects between the ages of 11 and 16 – according to local media, all of them were boys of “immigrant origin” – and took them away for questioning

A young girl was reportedly “borrowed” by her “loverboy” boyfriend to be sexually abused by his friends in Belgium, who filmed the attack on their phones and shared images on social media – a case that has shocked the country .

According to the public prosecutor’s office, the 14-year-old girl was abused up to three times by ten minors between April 2nd and 6th during the Easter holidays.

The main suspect – the girl’s 14-year-old boyfriend – is said to have taken the girl to a forest area called Kabouterbos in Kortrijk, West Flanders. The place is popular with mountain bikers and is close to a highway.

Once there, the boyfriend allegedly attacked his young partner before allegedly allowing several other boys to sexually harass her as well. The group reportedly filmed the attack on their smartphones and posted clips on social media.

The public prosecutor’s office arrested ten suspects between the ages of 11 and 16 – according to local media, all of them were boys of “immigrant origin” – and took them away for questioning.

Since then, more details about the suspects have emerged.

Citing “well-informed sources,” Belgian newspaper Nieuwsblad described the boyfriend as a “loverboy boy” who deliberately allowed his friends to abuse his young partner.

“Loverboy,” in this case, is a term that describes traffickers who typically try to make their young victims fall in love with them.

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Nieuwsblad said the prosecutor’s office had found “reprehensible behavior” by the suspects and “vindictive facts,” citing sources close to the investigation who said the alleged perpetrators had shown “a complete lack of awareness of norms.”

The girl is said to have spent at least two days in the forest, where she was raped, tortured and abused by the gang of minors. She also reportedly returned a third time, but was not raped on that occasion.

The group took turns abusing the victim and everyone participated “to a greater or lesser extent,” Nieuwsblad said in his report.

The girl was reportedly raped by several of the boys, while others filmed the attacks on their smartphones and then shared the clips with others.

Images were also shared on social media, reportedly via Snapchat – an instant messaging app that allows users to easily share images and videos.

The youngest of the boys, an 11-year-old, is said to have been used as a lookout.

None of the group urged their friends to stop the abuse, sources said.

The investigation was carried out by the West Flanders Public Prosecutor’s Office in the strictest secrecy to avoid family members of the victim or members of the public knowing the identities of those involved.

Although the alleged attack occurred in early April, the girl did not come forward for several days for fear of telling her parents and the police.

The police were only able to arrest the suspects on April 25th.

A total of ten boys were arrested. Six of the suspects were placed in a closed institution while the other four were placed under house arrest.

They have since been questioned – all at the same time and separately so that investigators can compare all statements.

Citing his sources, Nieuwsblad said that many of the boys’ statements were contradictory and several suspects blamed each other.

Some of the six minors housed in the institution appeared in juvenile court on Wednesday afternoon. It was reported that two of them were released on conditional terms.

Nieuwsblad reported that four other minors are currently in custody – including the 14-year-old friend, who has apparently been declared the main suspect.

Prosecutors are now working to find out to what extent each suspect was involved in the attack on the 14-year-old girl or whether they were bystanders.

Tom Janssens of the public prosecutor’s office said that due to the age of everyone involved, their identities were rarely discussed publicly.

He confirmed that ten suspects had been identified and arrested and that all were minors. “Because the perpetrators are so young, we don’t reveal much information about their identities,” Janssens told The Brussels Times.

According to the friend’s lawyer, her client has denied the reported events. “My client also wants the truth to come out and for the matter to be thoroughly investigated,” lawyer Nur Demirtas told Nieuwsblad.

“He understands that he is now locked up, but this is also traumatic for him.” This is also very difficult for his parents, wealthy people who tried to give their son a good upbringing. “They don’t understand how this could have happened,” Demirtas said.

“I also notice that the suspects of such crimes are becoming younger and younger. This is very worrying.”

Lawyer Kelly De Caluwé, defending a 16-year-old suspect of Somali origin, said the minors were “all interrogated at the same time and investigators will now review the statements to find out the truth.”

“These are terrible facts,” she said. “The question is how it is possible that these children have lost all sense of norms.” What should we do with this?

“How are we going to solve this? This question should not only be asked of the juvenile judge, but of society as a whole. I have never experienced such facts in my fifteen-year career.”

Caluwé said her client said things he didn’t mean when questioned and asked for a re-investigation.

“I asked for a re-investigation because he said things that were inconsistent with what he meant because of the language barrier,” she said, according to Nieuwsblad.

“For me he is not a rapist. Although he realizes that something very wrong has happened. This realization comes gradually.’

Kortrijk Mayor Vincent Van Quickenborne said he was shocked when he first learned about the case, which he had known about behind closed doors “for some time.”

“The public prosecutor’s office does not allow me to say anything about the facts of the case, but I have been aware of the investigation for a long time,” he said.

“These are shitty acts for which there are no words.” I say that not only as a politician, but also as a father of three small children.”

In Belgium, the age of criminal responsibility is 18, which means that the alleged sex offenders were brought before a juvenile judge and were likely included in a personal rehabilitation program in juvenile facilities.

However, given the exceptional nature of the case, it is possible that the 16-year-old in question will be dealt with under adult criminal law.

Meanwhile, the victim is receiving specialist medical care after his ordeal.

The case in Belgium came three years after another similarly horrific incident that shocked the country, when a 14-year-old girl was raped by a group of young men in a cemetery in Ghent, East Flanders.

The group, aged between 14 and 19, filmed the attack and shared the footage on social media. The victim later took his own life.

The case sparked a debate in Belgium over the country’s juvenile justice laws as well as an increase in the minimum sentence for sexual offenses.

Belgium eventually tightened juvenile crime laws.

This makes it possible to lock up children aged 12 and over for a longer period of time if they are found guilty of rape or gang rape. Since 2022, criminals aged 16 and over who have committed such crimes can be tried as adults.

Commenting on the recent case, East Flemish Justice Minister Zuhal Demir, who has advocated for tightening such laws, said that parents of children who commit such crimes “must be held accountable.”

“You simply cannot address this kind of violence with lower sentences,” she said, according to The Brussels Times.

“Such (offenders) must be removed from the streets and their parents must be held accountable.” “Juvenile judges should make greater and more comprehensive use of the recent tightening of juvenile criminal law.”

Frédéric Declercq, professor of forensic psychology, explained in an interview with De Morgen why the 14-year-old girl probably took a while to come forward after the incident in early April: Sexual crimes are always under-reported, regardless of whether they are it is a gang rape or a rape isolated case. “It is a well-known fact that victims usually feel more guilt than the perpetrators.”

“It is also very shameful to report crimes.” What plays a role for both female and male victims is stigma. You are no longer who you always were. “If you come out, you’re a rape victim.”