( CNN ) -- With four Phoenix , Arizona , boys ages 9 to 14 charged with sexual assault on an 8-year-old girl , a prosecutor vowed Thursday his office will `` seek justice for the young victim in this heartrending situation . '' Police say a girl was lured to a storage shed at an apartment complex where she was sexually assaulted . `` This is a deeply disturbing case that has gripped our community , '' said Maricopa County attorney Andrew Thomas . According to Phoenix police , the girl was lured to a storage shed at an apartment complex on July 16 . The four boys , who had offered the girl chewing gum , allegedly restrained and sexually assaulted her . At a news conference about the case Wednesday , police did not release any information on the girl 's condition , but officers called the case one of the worst they have investigated in many years . The 14-year-old was charged as an adult and will face two counts of sexual assault and one count of kidnapping , Thomas said Thursday . The other three boys were charged in juvenile court with sexual assault , and two of them also were charged with kidnapping , Thomas said . All the suspects except for the 14-year-old live in the same apartment complex , according to Phoenix police Sgt . Andy Hill . The victim and the boys charged are all from refugee families that have come to the United States from the war-torn West African nation of Liberia , police said . Detectives said the girl was placed in the custody of Phoenix child protective services after the attack because of her parents ' attitude toward her . `` The parents felt that they had been shamed or embarrassed by their child , '' Phoenix police Sgt . Andy Hill said . The Phoenix Police Department has a community response unit that assists with such sensitive cases . `` They made some initial contacts with the refugee community . They acted as liaison and were present when the child protective services agency took the victim , '' Hill said . Protective services officers `` will determine what 's going to happen in the days ahead and they 'll look at the past history with that family , if there is one , '' he said . CNN affiliate KTVK said it interviewed the girl 's 23-year-old sister , who said she was baby-sitting the girl at the time of the alleged attack . The sister , who was not identified by name by the station , expressed mixed feelings about her sister 's attack . `` I came to her and said it 's not good for you to be following guys because you are still little , '' the sister told KTVK . She also said that she wanted the suspects to be released from jail because `` we are the same people . '' `` When she comes back I 'm going to tell her do n't ever do that again because all of us , we are the same family , we are from the same place . Now she is just bringing confusion among us . Now the other people , they do n't want to see her , '' the sister told KTVK . Tony Weedor , a Liberian who fled civil war with his family and now lives in the Denver , Colorado , area , told CNN that cultural aspects are deep in the case . In Liberia rape was not against the law until 2006 , he said . `` The family [ believes they ] have been shamed by her , not a crime , but the name of the family has been degraded and news will get back to Liberia . And they 're more concerned about that than the crime , '' said Weedor , who is co-founder of the CenterPoint International Foundation , which aids Liberian refugees in the United States and provides aid for those still in Liberia . Edwin Sele , the deputy ambassador of Liberia to the United States , also responded to the incident . `` Having heard the story myself , I 'm outraged , '' he said . `` In Liberia , the family and law enforcement officers would be embracing the victim . To hear that the family is not doing that , that should be an isolated case . '' Resettlement groups around the country help refugees settle into life in the United States . Among them is the Refugee and Immigrants Relief Center in Phoenix , where Omar Dolleh , a refugee from Sierra Leone in West Africa , is the program director . As a part of the refugee orientation program , he said , his group touches upon the laws in the United States , but the most immediate goal for refugees and organizations that help them is finding employment and places to live . CNN 's Sara Pratley contributed to this report .
Prosecutor vows justice for girl who says she was sexually assaulted by young boys . Officers call the case one of the worst they have investigated . Victim 's sister wants suspects released because `` we are the same people '' Police in Phoenix , Arizona , say 8-year-old girl lured to vacant shed with gum .