Dell Hospital will Pay Rape Victim for Sharing the Picture Story: Hoax

Story:

This is one a sick animal.

This guy raped a five year old little girl. He ruined her life, she is alive & in the hospital can’t move and can never have children, or a normal life. This guy goes by different names he is in hiding & has AIDS. The little girl came out positive. Please help us catch this animal. Every time this message is fwd Dell Hospital will donate $.15 to Maria’s medication & treatment. Please don’t hesitate to fwd, this could’ve been you’re daughter or sister. God bless. Thank you..

Forward this to as many people as you can.

Message that Dell Hospital will Pay Rape Victim for Sharing the Picture Story — Dell Hospital will Pay Rape Victim for Sharing the Picture Story

Analysis:

The story in circulation online through social networking websites asks readers to share the picture of a man who supposedly raped a five year old little girl Maria, ruining her health and life. It is said that every time the message is forwarded, Dell Hospital will donate $.15 to Maria’s medication & treatment. No, the claims are not facts.

The story in question is in fact an old one that keeps surfacing again online, and it appears to have originated form a Google plus post that is not available now. It is not based on any real life incident, and more importantly, Dell Hospital or any other organization will not generally donate money to a crime victim based on sharing of a post on social networking websites. Back in 2010, the Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas has in fact called the story as fake and spam:

ALERT: SPAM Text Message Makes False Claim

A false text message has been circulating that describes an incident involving a 5-year old girl. The message states that every time you forward it to someone, Dell Children’s Medical Center will donate 15 cents to cover the child’s healthcare expenses. This message is spam and is in no way affiliated with Dell Children’s Medical Center or the Seton Family of Hospitals. If you receive this message, please delete it.

Screenshot of Dell Children’s Medical Center Calling It Spam

So the current story of rape victim is one among those longest-running hoaxes on the internet that circulate through email, SMS or social networking post (see Related Stories below). Sharing such sensitive stories or pictures will not really help someone in case of real life incident, donating your money and/or time will be more helpful instead.