The parents of a 10-year-old girl -- who blamed their daughter for getting raped by a group of Liberian boys when she was only 8 -- have been granted competency hearings in their child abuse cases.
The Liberian girl's brutal 2009 rape made national headlines -- click here for all the details.
Hemie and Wedeh Dio face seven counts of child abuse for crimes unrelated to the rape.
Aside from blaming their 8-year-old daughter for getting raped, police say the Dios used sticks, wires, and their fists to hit
their daughter as far back as 2005 -- when she was only 4 years old.
Witnesses,
according to authorities, say the Dios often left their daughter
wandering around their apartment complex alone at night, begging for food.
The alleged abuse of the Dios' daughter only came to light after she was
raped by four boys -- then ages 9, 10, 13 and 14 -- who lured her into a
shed at their apartment complex near Thomas Road and 43rd Avenue in
Phoenix.
Police were called to the scene after neighbors reported that they saw a young girl running
out of the shed, half-nude and screaming. Numerous witnesses helped
police identify the boy suspects.
It's unclear why Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Susan Brnovich
granted the competency hearings. Regardless, two doctors (a psychiatrist
and
psychologist) will conduct a psychological evaluation of the couple
to determine whether they're able to stand trial.
The Dios are due back in court on December 12.
