3 Suspects Arrested in Assault on Castaic Girl, 13

A 13-year-old Castaic girl was sexually assaulted by two young men and a juvenile who lured her from an adult-supervised party Saturday night in Saugus, authorities said Sunday.

The suspects, all of Saugus, were arrested on suspicion of sexual offenses including oral copulation with a minor, lewd and lascivious acts with a person younger than 14 and rape with a foreign object, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Edward L. Dvorak said.

Shane Trittler, 18; Ryan Cataneo, 19, and a 17-year-old boy attacked the girl in a bedroom of a house where Trittler lives, Dvorak said. The suspects had approached the supervised party about 9 p.m. and convinced the girl and two of her friends to come with them to another party, he said.

The victim was led to believe some of her friends would be at the other party, which apparently did not exist, investigators said.

Once at Trittler’s residence, the girl was given alcohol, and one of the suspects brought her to an upstairs bedroom “to look at some pictures,” Sgt. Ron Boudreaux said. The other two suspects were waiting in the bedroom, and the three attacked the girl, he said.

Friends Heard Cries

The girl’s two friends downstairs heard her cries, and one of them tried to enter the bedroom, but was not allowed in, Dvorak said.

The suspects then left the victim, who was taken from the house by her friends before police were called shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Dvorak said.

The girl, who was treated at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital and released to her parents, apparently did not know the three accused of attacking her, Dvorak said. But her friends, a boy and girl about the same age as the victim, apparently did and helped police identify the suspects, who were arrested about 3 a.m. at Trittler’s residence, he said.

Trittler and Cataneo are expected to be arraigned this week in San Fernando Municipal Court, Dvorak said. Trittler was released on $5,000 bail, but Cataneo was being held at the sheriff’s Santa Clarita Valley substation in Valencia in lieu of $100,000 bail, he said.

Cataneo’s bail is higher because the incident occurred while he was out on bail and awaiting trial in a separate sexual-assault case, Dvorak said. Information on that case was unavailable Sunday.

The 17-year-old was released to the custody of his parents and is expected to appear in Sylmar Juvenile Court if prosecutors decide to charge him in a juvenile petition, Dvorak said.