Teens in Brooklyn playground gang rape expected to be charged as adults
NEW YORK -- The teens who allegedly raped an 18-year-old woman in a Brooklyn playground last week can be tried as adults for "rape by forceful compulsion" and those charges are expected later today, according to a source close to the investigation.
Four teens, who range in age from 14 to 17, were being held by investigators Monday, according to CBS New York, and a fifth suspect was still at large.
According to the station, two of the young men were turned in by their parents, while the other two were found by police, authorities said.
The gun that the victim's father said was used in the attack had not been recovered, according to the station.
The alleged gang rape happened just after 9 p.m. on Thursday in a Brooklyn playground. Sources told CBS New York that the female victim had been drinking with her father deep in the park to avoid police when five male suspects approached her and her father, police said. One of the teens then allegedly pointed a gun at the victim's father, insisting he leave.
The father told community activists that he ran into a nearby store asking to use a phone, but was denied, while the five suspects took turns raping his daughter.
Sources told CBS New York that two of the suspects in custody said the incident with the woman was consensual.
On Monday, members of the community gathered in the playground where the alleged rapes occurred last week. Some residents demanded that the fifth suspect surrender, while public officials called for a full investigation into the matter.
"There's still one actor in this whole play that's still out there," community activist Tony Herbert said. "And we want him to turn himself in. Do the responsible thing. We ask that his parents, you see the video, if you recognize that to be your child, turn him in like these other parents."
Eric Adams, the Brooklyn Borough president, said the investigation into the attack should not only "identify all those responsible for this horrific attack, but also to determine if everything possible was done to protect the victim and the public. I do not accept a city where reports of rape and sexual assault are on the rise," he said, noting the need for "better lighting and design of public spaces like Osborn Playground" where the incident occurred.
"There's a missing piece to this entire incident that five individuals raped a person and there was a lapse in the response to come here," Adams said.
An NYPD police spokesman said there was no delay in the police response.
The bodega owner who refused the victim's father a phone call said the man hadn't seemed alarmed when asking for help and that people often come into the store requesting to use the phone, according the CBS New York.