Man Charged With Raping Girl, 10
A 33-year-old Long Beach man was charged Friday with raping a 10-year-old girl after allegedly paying her mother $10,000 for rights to marry her.
Tom Yang, a postal clerk, was arrested Wednesday after the girl’s brother told school authorities of the purported sexual assault by Yang, who rented a room in her family’s home.
The child’s mother told Long Beach police that Yang forced her to take $10,000, even though she insisted that her daughter could not marry until she was 18, Detective Holly Van Der Meer said. The girl and a younger sister have been placed in foster homes while the incident is investigated, Van Der Meer said.
The detective said Yang denies assaulting the girl and says he gave the mother the $10,000 for safekeeping.
Authorities said the girl’s family is originally from an area of Laos where it is customary for a man to give the parents of his bride a gift of clothing, furniture or money to help pay for the wedding and furnish the couple’s household.
Yang was being held in lieu of $500,000 bond.
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