PHOENIX, Arizona (AFP) - One of four Liberian boys charged with raping an eight-year-old girl in the southwestern US state of Arizona last week will be prosecuted as an adult, authorities said.

The details of the case have shocked local officials and provoked outrage across the United States after the parents of the young victim disowned her on grounds she had "shamed" her family.

Officers responding to screams from an empty shed in an apartment complex on July 16 found the partially-clothed girl and four boys aged 9 to 14 running away.

The four boys had lured the girl into the shed with chewing gum. They held her down and took turns raping her for about 10 to 15 minutes, according to Phoenix police.

The girl's parents shocked officers when they said she had brought shame to the family and did not want her back. Both the girl and the boys are Liberian immigrants.

"This is a deeply disturbing case that has gripped our community," Maricopa County attorney Andrew Thomas said in a statement. "Our office will seek justice for the young victim in this heartrending situation."

The girl is now in the custody of Arizona Child Protective Services (CPS). No charges will be filed against the parents, police said.

"They didn't abandon the child," Phoenix police sergeant Andy Hill told AFP. "They committed no crime. They just didn't support the child, which led to CPS coming over there."

The oldest boy, a 14 year-old, will be tried as an adult on charges of kidnapping and sexual assault.

The other three boys -- aged 9, 10, and 13 -- were charged as juveniles with sexual assault and kidnapping.

"We've had young people who have been victims of sexual assault, but the thing that distinguishes this is the age of the victim, the age of the suspects and the response of the parents," Hill said.

People from California to Maine have called wanting to adopt the child or provide money, Hill said.

"It's been unbelievably fantastic in terms of support for the child," he said. "People from eight or nine states have called."

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