Three French teenagers arrested for alleged anti-Semitic gang rape of 12-year-old Jewish girl

French police have arrested three teenagers suspected of raping a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a Paris suburb in a heinous act of anti-Semitism because the girl was not open about her Jewish origins and had made negative comments about Palestine.

The victim and her parents filed a rape complaint with the police over the weekend. They said the three teenagers took them to an abandoned hangar on the site of an old nursery in Courbevoie, beat and raped them, threatened to kill them and humiliated their Jewish faith, reported the French daily Le Parisien.

The suspects, aged 12, 13 and 14, were arrested on Monday and reportedly admitted to the rape, saying she was motivated by her religion. One of the suspects, the girl’s ex-boyfriend, said he was angry because she had hidden from him that she was Jewish, while another suspect was reportedly upset that the victim was critical of Palestine, the newspaper said.

Investigators reportedly found anti-Semitic material on the ex-boyfriend’s phone, including a picture of a burned Israeli flag.

An examination at the hospital confirmed the rape. The local prosecutor’s office, reports the Daily Mail, said the boys were charged with aggravated rape, aggravated sexual assault, attempted extortion, invasion of privacy, death threats, violence and insult.