More Charges Dropped in Alleged Gang Rape of NJ 7-Year-Old
Now only one of six defendants accused faces sex charges
Friday, Dec 3, 2010 | Updated 1:45 PM EDT
NBC Philadelphia
Joseph Leary, 20, was charged with statutory rape and endangering the welfare of a child
Prosecutors have offered to drop sex charges against all but one of the six defendants accused of participating in what police said was the gang-rape of a 7-year-old in New Jersey's capital city.
The deals come eight months after Trenton police accused a 15-year-old girl of pimping her 7-year-old stepsister at a party and watching as she was raped by as many as seven men and boys.
The girl and a 13-year-old boy have pleaded guilty to child endangerment. With no DNA evidence and the 15-year-old changing her story, defense attorneys say the case became increasingly weak.
Twenty-year-old Gregory Leary is accused of sexually assaulting the older girl.
Another man and two boys, ages 14 and 17, also have been charged in the case.
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