Girl, 18,-
'I wasn't raped, sex with five teens was consensual.'
had sex with dad same night.
Won't cooperate with DA to prosecute father
Photo: Micheal Graae /Daily Mail
Accused: The teens (pictured, outside court) claimed the girl was having
sex with her father in the Brooklyn park when they arrived on January 7
Charges
against five teenage boys who were accused of gang-raping an 18-year-old
girl at a playground in Brooklyn last month have been dropped as she
admits to having consensual sex with the boys and her father.
The
unnamed girl has recanted her allegations of sexual assault against
Denzel Murray, 14, Shaquell Cooper and Ethan Phillip, both 15, and
Onandi Brown and Travis Beckford, both 17, Brooklyn District Attorney
Ken Thompson announced Wednesday afternoon.
'Working
closely with the NYPD, my office has thoroughly investigated disturbing
and very serious allegations of a gang rape at gunpoint last month
inside the Osborn Playground in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn,' a
statement from Thompson's office reads.
'The
complainant, as well as her father, provided multiple inconsistent
accounts to NYPD Detectives and to experienced Special Victims
prosecutors about important material facts in this case.
Photo: Micheal Graae /Daily Mail
Free to go: Denzel Murray, 14, is one of the five teenage boys who had
the sexual assault charges against him dismissed on Wednesday. He is
pictured above smirking after his arrest in January
The
complainant has recanted her allegations of forcible sexual assault and
the existence of a gun, and she does not wish to pursue criminal charges
against any of the defendants.
'She
also refuses to cooperate with any prosecution against her father, who
was engaging in sexual conduct with her. That night, this young woman's
father and the five young men engaged in conduct that was reprehensible
and wrong, but because of the lack of reliable evidence, criminal
charges simply cannot be sustained.'
Thompson
said that he hopes the young woman 'gets all the support she needs
going forward,' adding that victim advocates have been working with her
and will provide any assistance she may need in the future.
Originally
authorities charged the five teens accused - ages 14, 15, 15, 17 and 17
- as adults, each with one count of rape, two counts of criminal sex
act, and one count of sex abuse in connection with the alleged assault.
The
girl involved claimed that she was with her 39-year-old father in the
park drinking at about 9pm on January 7 when the group of teens
approached them.
She told investigators that the group accosted them in the park and ordered the father to leave.
When
he returned moments later and hurled a bottle at the teens, one teen
pulled out a handgun and ordered him to leave, according to
investigators at the time.
Photo: Micheal Graae /Daily Mail
Shaquell Cooper (left) and Ethan Phillip (right) also seemed to be
smiling and scowling prior to their court appearance in January. The
charges against them were dismissed Wednesday
Photo: Facebook
Travis Beckford, 17, was the last of the five teens to be identified in the alleged incident, but is now free to go
Police Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said at the time that the young woman gave a very credible report.
'She had physical injuries at the time,' he said. 'She was traumatized.'
Her
father said he wandered around for several minutes looking for help. He
claimed he went into a store but a merchant refused to let him use a
telephone, police said.
He then flagged down two police officers and told them he feared his daughter was being murdered, Boyce said.
In an
interview with Eyewitness News in January, the dad defended his actions
that night, saying he felt that if he stayed behind and tried to defend
his daughter, he would have been shot.
He said: 'The one put a gun in my face telling me to run, and all of them had their way with her.'
The
girl also offered her side of the story, saying she was scared when her
father took off running, leaving the men to take turns raping her.
The officers found her alone in the playground with bruises and cuts. Pieces of her clothing were found strewn near the park.
Photo: NYPD
Pictured: surveillance video shows the suspects in the rape entering a bodega before the alleged incident
The young woman's father denied claims of incest made against him by two of the male teens.
'They're just trying to get out of the thing they did,' the unnamed father told the New York Post in January on his way to a deli to buy beer. 'I want them to rot in jail.'
Brooklyn
Assistant District Attorney Lisa Nugent said in January that none of
the four suspects was identified by witnesses who viewed lineups and
photo arrays.
Investigators
said they did an extensive search for witnesses but came up empty. They
said they recovered video from a nearby middle school that showed
distant figures entering the park, helping to bolster the woman's
account.
Courtesy: Nypost/DailyMail
No comments:
Post a Comment