Three boys, ranging in age from eight to 10, have been called into juvenile court, charged with gang-raping a six-year-old girl in the basement of a Madison apartment building.

June 17, the victim allegedly went into the basement of an apartment building at 17 Capitol View; a group of boys followed her and took turns holding her down while each raped her, according to juvenile court documents.

Deputy Dane County district attorney Michael Walsh said this case of sexual assault is the most brutal juvenile crime he has dealt with during his tenure in Madison.

“In terms of the sexual nature of this, it is [the most violent],” said Walsh, who feels the accused boys were unaware of the serious nature of their actions.

The charge each boy faces, a class B felony, carries a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison for those tried and convicted as adults.

Each of the three boys named in the document was accused of “sexual intercourse with another person, without her consent and by use of force while aided or abetted by one or more other persons.”

Two boys, one of whom attended school with the victim, “took hold of her legs and dragged her, and [one of the boys] was the subject who removed her clothing,” according to the report.

When questioned by the Dane County Department of Human Services June 20, the victim, when asked which boys attacked her, replied, “all of them.”

The nine-year-old suspect told police the 10-year-old threatened him, forcing him to assault the girl.

“They told me to ‘rape her or we’ll beat you up,'” he said.

Walsh said the boys, given their ages, would most likely be placed under supervision in programs designed to help them rather than punish them.

“What we’re really looking for is an intervention geared to their age,” Walsh said. “We want to teach them how injurious their behavior is, how serious it is and to help them respect the personal safety and boundaries of others.”