3 Banning boys, all 13, suspected in rape of girl
Three 13-year-old boys have been arrested on suspicion of raping a middle school girl in a Banning park as she walked home from the campus, authorities said Friday.
The boys have admitted to attacking the girl Monday evening at Roosevelt Williams Park, a few blocks from Nicolet Middle School, where the boys and the 13-year-old victim are students, Banning police said.
The boys allegedly grabbed the girl and fondled her before two of them held her down while the third sexually assaulted her, police said.
Detectives said the girl, who was treated at a local hospital, identified her attackers. Investigators questioned he three boys on Wednesday and arrested them the next day after they admitted the crime, police said.
The three are being held at a Riverside County juvenile facility pending a decision by the district attorney’s office on what specific charges they will face and whether to try the boys as adults.
The victim’s cousin, Marquavis Pryor, told KTLA-TV Channel 5 on Thursday that he heard the boys involved were friends of his little brother. “It hurts a lot,” Pryor said. “It’s not right.”
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