MILWAUKEE - An 11-year-old boy was charged Wednesday with sexually assaulting a 76-year-old neighborhood woman in her home as three of his friends stood watch.
Police said that for a week before the attack, the boys had been "terrorizing" the woman in her house, repeatedly breaking in and taking cash and other items.
The woman, who lived alone, told police she was taking a sponge bath in the kitchen Friday when the 11-year-old walked in, demanded money and then ordered her to take off her clothes and go into the bedroom, according to court papers.
The boy's brother, a 13-year-old who was among the three other boys also charged, said he heard the woman say: "I'm just an old, half-crippled lady, I'm not going."
The woman said the 11-year-old put on a condom and tried to rape her, followed by a second boy.
The 11-year-old was charged in juvenile court with sexual assault and being a party to burglary and criminal trespassing. The other boys - ages 11, 12 and 13 - were charged with being a party to burglary and criminal trespassing.
In court Wednesday, the 11-year-old facing the less serious charges called out, "Hi, Mom" after spotting his adoptive mother.
"I'm very hurt because my son was raised as a good boy," she said outside court. She complained that police abused the boys to obtain confessions.
