40 people watched an alleged sexual assault video live on Facebook, no one did anything

Chicago police are looking for up to six men who reportedly sexually assaulted a 15-year-old and live-streamed the attack on Facebook.

40 people watched the live video and not one reported it to police, authorities told The Associated Press.

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Police only learned of the assault when the girl's mother approached the head of Chicago Police Department, Superintendent Eddie Johnson, as he was leaving a station on the city's West Side.

The woman told him her daughter had been missing since Sunday and showed him screenshots of her being gang-raped, according to department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

“It’s disgusting. It’s so disgusting,” the girl’s mother told CBS Chicago. "I didn't really want to look at it that much, but from what I saw, they were pouring stuff on her, and just... she was so scared."

Police spokesman Guglielmi tweeted that detectives had found the girl and reunited her with her family.

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Supt. Johnson immediately ordered an investigation and asked Facebook to remove the video, which it did. He said the victim told detectives that she knows at least one of her alleged attackers, but it's unclear how well they knew each other.

Police are conducting interviews but no one has been charged yet.

Tweet may have been deleted

Supt. Johnson was reportedly "visibly upset" after he watched the video, both by its content and the fact that there were "40 or so live viewers and no one thought to call authorities."

The victim's uncle had informed the girl's mother about the video, which led the mother to believe she had been raped, WGN reports.

A Facebook spokesperson said: “Crimes like this are hideous and we do not allow that kind of content on Facebook. We take our responsibility to keep people safe on Facebook very seriously and will remove videos that depict sexual assault and are shared to glorify violence.”

The is the second time in recent months that Chicago Police Department have been called to investigate an apparent attack that was streamed live on Facebook. In January, four people were arrested after cellphone footage showed them allegedly beating a mentally disabled men.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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