5th Suspect in NYC Gang Rape Is in Police Custody

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

Four teens accused of gang-raping a woman in Brooklyn, N.Y., last week have been formally charged, and a fifth suspect is now in police custody, CBS New York reports

The fifth suspect, a 17-year-old boy, is accused of being the ringleader in the horrific attack and is the one also accused of threatening the victim's father with a gun. It is not clear whether he has been charged in the case yet.

The four other suspects—two 15-year-olds, a 14-year-old and another 17-year-old—are awaiting arraignment after being held as adults on charges of rape, forcible compulsion, a criminal sex act and sexual abuse, the news station notes. 

Advertisement

Community leaders have responded with outrage to the attack, which reportedly took place Thursday night in a park in the New York City borough.

Advertisement

According to the report, the 18-year-old victim was drinking in the park with her father when the teens approached. One of them pulled a gun on her father, ordering him to leave. When the father left to get help, the teens allegedly took turns raping the young woman. 

Advertisement

CBS New York notes, however, that at least two of the suspects insist that the incident was consensual.

Read more at CBS New York