Audrie Pott Suicide: Attorney For Family Wants Boys Charged With Her Rape To Be Tried As Adults

Audrie Pott suffered an “orchestrated crime” when three teenage boys raped her and took pictures of the crime to spread them around school, said an attorney representing her family. Now the attorney wants them tried as adults.

The 15-year-old California girl was allegedly raped in September by three boys from her high school. The attackers allegedly took pictures during the assault, later publishing them online and spreading them around school.

The situation grew so bad that eight days after the alleged rape, Audrie Pott took her life.

Publications typically do not publish the name victims of of sexual crimes and suicide, but the family of Pott have talked about her case in the hope of bringing attention to it.

The case bears strikingly similarities to two other high-profile crimes. In Steubenville, Ohio, two football players were convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl at a party, with the crime playing out across social media through tweets and pictures. And 15-year-old Canadian girl Rehtaeh Parsons also took her life recently after an alleged gang-rape by per peers.

Though it took place last year, Audrie Pott’s rape and subsequent suicide hit the news this week when police charged three boys with the crime. Bob Allard, an attorney representing the Pott family, is pushing hard for them to be tried as adults.

“This is not your typical juvenile crime,” Allard said. “We’re talking about an orchestrated crime. Right up next to murder would be an assault like this. An adult-like crime with an adult-like mentality.”

Police have arrested three teenage boys in connection to what police say was sexual assault of the 15-year-old California high school student.

Allard is pushing for a heavy charge for the boys — homicide. The three alleged assailants, all 16 years old, are currently charged with sexual battery.

“This family has lost a sister and daughter to death,” Allard said. “The penalty should be commensurate.”

Jaron Shipp of the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office said it is “unlikely” a homicide charge would come in the case, but wouldn’t go into any more detail.

The parents of Audrie Pott are happy to hear that the boys could be charged as adults, Allard said. They have a press conference planned for Tuesday.