March 10, 2011 — — The alleged gang rape of an 11-year-old girl by at least 18 boys and young men has sparked shame and outrage in a tiny Texas town, but it has also stirred racial tensions that threaten to split the East Texas hamlet.
All of the defendants arrested are African-American and the girl is Hispanic.
The hardscrabble town of Cleveland, which is 45 miles from Houston, has fewer than 8,000 residents and since the saw mill closed the biggest employers are Wal-Mart and a nearby prison. In a town this small, everyone is a neighbor, but that small town ambience is being severely strained.
The rape allegedly occurred last November, and the list of suspects has been growing as arrests keep coming. It’s not clear whether more arrests are in the works.
