Rural setting, mentally challenged young man/ boy believed to have attacked a young girl.
I read this library book in the '70s or '80s. It was written in English. I seem to recall it being a rural setting, anywhere from the 1930s to the 1960s. I think the narrator was a young girl who seemed to be protective of the boy. I can't remember if there was a family relationship between the two.When a young girl in the community was attacked the boy was accused because of his disabilities. The neighbors and family of the girl were looking for the boy and the narrator wanted to try to hide/help him because she thought they would hurt him. I also recall him often just sitting in a window of a house at night.I thought it might have been a Kentucky author but I may be mistaken about that. I was probably a teenager when I read it, I'm not sure what age it was meant for but I think it had some mature themes meant for someone a little older.