TAMPA - A mother says her 13-year-old son was arrested for raping his two younger brothers.
Placed into a diversion program, he was literally sent home to live with his victims, who are 4- and 6-year-olds.
The situation has left the family desperate to get the 13-year-old out of the house and into a program to get help, but there aren't enough beds. After her 13-year-old served 21 days in detention, they sent him home, promising treatment.
"I refused the state, but the state had told me that if I don't receive my son back in my home that I will be arrested for abandonment," she said. They also told her that her other children could be taken from her.
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The state Department of Juvenile Justice says its hands are tied because the boy has not been convicted. Even if he was, there is a waiting list for state treatment and a local diversion program has a waiting list of 1,000. Though the boy is close to the top, it's not a program for sex offenders.
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