Teens Charged With Torturing Boy Who Is Mentally Disabled

Two teenage girls in Maryland allegedly tortured a 16-year-old boy who has a mental disability. Police say they filmed the incident on their cell phones, according to multiple sources.

Lauren Bush, 17, of Mechanicsville in St. Mary's County, and an unnamed 15-year-old accomplice, allegedly stabbed the boy, kicked him in the groin, forced him to perform sexual acts with an animal and made him walk across a frozen pond, Chesapeake Today reports. When the boy fell through the ice, the teens did not help him.

The teens were arrested March 5, and an investigation was initiated two days later.

The 16-year-old victim, who was not identified, is said to have an intellectual disability. WJLA-TV reports that he has autism, but that report is unconfirmed.

The St. Mary's Count Sheriff's Office could not be reached for comment.

“His vulnerabilities made this crime more heinous,” St. Mary's Sheriff Tim Cameron said, according to SoMdNews. Cameron added that the alleged offenses were among the most disturbing crimes he's ever seen.

Both girls are students at Chopticon High School in Morganza and were said to have known the boy prior to the crimes, which occurred between December and early February, SoMdNews notes.

Both girls have been charged with two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, soliciting a subject in the production of child pornography and false imprisonment. Bush is being held at St. Mary's County Detention Center and will be tried as an adult. The younger girl is being detained at Waxter's Children's Center in the town of Laurel.