Teenager Killed by Alleged Hit Men After Reporting Rape

In one of the saddest stories of the year, a young woman was murdered after reporting a sexual assault.

This dear young girl, Isabella Scavelli, 17, filed a police report saying she had been sexually assaulted by an adult, Lenard White.

Here is a full report about the situation from Fox13News.

After Isabella and a family member made the police report, two known gang members came to their home.  Isabella answered a knock on the door.  Then she and another family member were shot.  The other family member survived, but Isabella did not. 

Four people have been charged with respect to Isabella's death.  Details are in the article linked above.

From that article:

"When you have a 17-year-old, and this particular victim, we have every reason to believe she was not engaged in any high-risk activity. She was a good kid with a very bright future and to see her life cut short is heart-wrenching to say the least. Words cannot even express it," the sheriff said.

I am also horrified by the way this girl was apparently targeted.  And I still wish the sheriff could refrain from valorizing victims.  Because he's inadvertently de-prioritizing and demonizing other victims.  Those who do engage in high-risk activities seem to deserve it when they get raped and murdered, or don't deserve to ask for help if they do get attacked, is the logical inference.

It's gross to use the unfairness of her situation, the hideous shame -- and frankly stupidity, of upgrading a rape charge to murder -- to throw other victims under the bus.

She does seem like a great kid.  She didn't deserve what happened to her -- and how devastating for the family members who witnessed it.  But nobody deserves what happened to her.  And the sheriff's statement sounds like he's not so bothered sometimes.