WINNIPEG — The mother of a 16-year-old who was viciously attacked, sexually assaulted and left for dead in downtown Winnipeg says the teen is getting better and is anxious to return to school.
Julie Harper says her daughter, Rinelle, is a fighter and will get through her ordeal.
Rinelle's father, Caesar, told a news conference Thursday that his daughter doesn't remember anything about the attack.
"The first time I saw her at the hospital I (didn't) know what was going to happen to her," he said in a quiet voice before breaking down in tears.
"She looked so bad, beaten ... It's really hard to forget (how) I saw her at first."
He said the family wants to thank the public for its support and for helping police make an arrest.
Rinelle was attacked last Friday night near the Assiniboine River.
Police have charged two young men with attempted murder and sexual assault. They are also accused of aggravated sexual assault on a 23-year-old woman later the same night.
Rinelle was found unconscious the next morning and taken to hospital in critical condition, but has since been upgraded to stable.
"I'm sure she's going to be alive and well," her father said.
Grand Chief David Harper, who represents northern First Nations, said he hopes Rinelle's ordeal will be a call to action to fight violence against aboriginal women.
"The wind has to change," he said. "It is in each and every one of us, it is our responsibility, to make that change.
"We have to put an end to violence"
