New Jersey prosecutors stated in court documents Tuesday that there was no DNA evidence of semen found on the 7-year-old girl who was gang raped this past April.
The little girl reportedly told police that she had been at a party in a high-rise apartment in Trenton, N.J., with her older teen step-sister, who had initially been identified as the child's 15-year-old blood sister. Police investigations revealed that after the sister sold the child for sex, three to four men held her down and assaulted her.
Although these preliminary forensic tests show that there was no semen detected, the lack of this type of evidence will not stop state prosecutors from building their case against the three teenaged boys and two men who have been charged with raping the child.
The stepsister has been charged as a juvenile for promoting prostitution, aggravated sexual assault and a battery of other charges.
Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Downing told the Associated Press:
"The majority of the state's sexual assault cases are prosecuted without the benefit of (DNA) evidence." Since the child received various bodily injuries that can be associated with sexual assault, and the assailants gave statements to police implicating each other, the case against the defendants is building.
The three male teens who are accused will not be tried as adults. Bail has been reduced to $75,000 for the two male assailants, 19-year-old Timear Lewis (pictured above) and 20-year-old Gregory Joseph Leary (pictured below) are still being held at their original bail amounts, $300,000 and $500,000, respectively.
Leary's lawyer, Robin Lord, is pushing for a dismissal of the case on the grounds that no DNA evidence was found on the child. The attorney told the AP:
"The case is hardly as solid as the police originally leaked," Lord said. Without the DNA evidence, "you have an ethical obligation as a prosecuting authority to seek justice, not just a conviction."
Leary's sister, Shemika, believes that with the recent turn of events, regarding the lack of DNA, the state should drop the charges against her brother. The young woman told the AP that her family will undoubtedly sue the state if her brother is acquitted of all charges.
Ironically, the child's unnamed stepfather defended three of the accused teens. He claimed that Leary, Lewis and another 17-year-old, in fact, tried to get the child out of the apartment. The man also told authorities, that the three boys were unsuccessful in helping the child flee, because they were held at gunpoint.
Plea deals were offered to the younger teens in exchange for information that could convict the adults who were named in the rape. Downing told the AP that before she offers any deals to the adults, she must first deal with the case against the juveniles who have been charged.
Please Pray for our youth they need the help.
Asa - CEO of PO Soul Ent.
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