Community leaders rally in support of teen rape victim in Brownsville

Community leaders and outraged citizens gathered Monday to demand the fifth suspect involved in an alleged gang rape of a Brownsville teen turn himself in, but the circumstances surrounding the incident

News 12 Staff

Jan 12, 2016, 8:39 AM

Updated 3,271 days ago

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Community leaders and outraged citizens gathered Monday to demand the fifth suspect involved in an alleged gang rape of a Brownsville teen turn himself in, but the circumstances surrounding the incident remain murky.
Police say the other four suspects are already in custody. Two of them were turned in by their own parents. 
All five are between 14 and 17 years old, and are expected to be charged as adults, police say. 
But sources say charges have not yet been filed due to inconclusive information within the investigation. Police have not confirmed that claim.
The 18-year-old victim and her father were walking through the Brownsville park around 9 p.m. Thursday when the group approached them.
Officials say one of the men pointed a gun at the father and ordered him to leave. The father complied, and police say each suspect took turns raping the victim.
Police say the victim's father first ran to a bodega and requested help, but the owner allegedly refused to let him use a phone there. He flagged down two police officers who returned to the scene, but the suspects had left.
Community activist Tony Herbert says investigators are examining what he described as conflicting information regarding exactly what happened.
According to sources, the father was drunk and belligerent when he went into the bodega.
Community members voiced outrage Monday to both the accusations that bodega workers refused to help the father and that police waited two days before alerting the media to the details surrounding the attack.
The victim was taken to Kings County Hospital, where she was treated and released.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.