The case of the four Liberian refugee boys accused of raping an eight-year-old girl is moving forward, with the oldest boy being charged as an adult and his plea being entered Monday morning.

Steven Tuopeh, the 14-year-old Liberian youth accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl, was arraigned this morning in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Dressed in jail stripes, Tuopeh appeared in court on a television uplink from jail. And although he answered questions in English, a court-appointed interpreter stood at his side, translating the proceedings into a dialect called Liberian English.

Commissioner Brian Reed entered a mandatory not-guilty plea in Tuopeh's behalf on eight counts: kidnapping, attempted sexual conduct with a minor, four counts of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of sexual assault that could be converted to sexual conduct with a minor. [Not-guilty plea entered in alleged rape of Phoenix girl, 8, Arizona Republic, August 10, 2009]

(For more details, see Liberians Residing in Arizona Fret over ”Backlash” in Gang Rape of Child.)

The locally residing Liberians are still in damage-control mode and are making excuses for an inexcusable crime: Family friend: Liberian boy raised in refugee camp.

A Liberian teenager charged as an adult in the alleged gang rape of an 8-year-old girl in Phoenix pleaded not guilty Monday, as details of the boy's former life in an Ivory Coast refugee camp emerged.

Yarsiah Sirleaf, who is now a neighbor of the teen in Phoenix and used to teach him Sunday school, told The Associated Press that the boy lived in the camp for about a decade and went through a daily struggle to eat.

This horrific crime is another example showing that psychologically traumatized children and adults should not be admitted as refugees. At the very least, such people should be permitted entry only if some responsible agency agrees to provide appropriate long-term psychological counseling. And even that precaution may not be enough to protect the public. It is completely irresponsible of the government to import thousands of future criminals and just dump them on unsuspecting communities.

Another victim of a criminal refugee was Marilyn Bethell, who was murdered by a deeply disturbed Sudanese, Gareng Deng, whose life was one long violent rap sheet ever since he arrived. Three of the four Roanoke kidnappers were African refugees.

War-traumatized children may be unable to put aside a deep desire for revenge. An estimated 90 percent of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan suffer from PTSD, which can result in drug abuse, depression or violence.

In addition, the refugees' home cultures may be incompatible with our values; for example, Liberia made rape illegal only three years ago and the crime is still endemic there. Of all the people we could invite into the national community, surely Liberians would fall at the bottom of the list of desirables. Even so, the Refugee Industrial Complex is powerful, and highly placed do-gooders want many more.

Following is a recent television report about the Liberian rape case: Muslim Family Disowns 8 Year Old Girl For Being Raped.