Two Teens Sentenced in Attack

Two Orange County teenagers were sentenced to lengthy terms in the California Youth Authority on Wednesday after admitting their roles in a late-night attack on two young couples in Black Star Canyon.

Prosecutors consider Phu Quoc Tran and Veruk Kim the least culpable of the five suspects charged with repeatedly raping two girls, ages 13 and 15, and beating their boyfriends with a metal rod on July 3.

Tran, 15, and Kim, 17, were sentenced to more than 17 years in custody, but they can’t be held beyond their 25th birthdays. In a plea bargain, prosecutors dropped efforts to prosecute the boys as adults.

Three other suspects charged as adults are awaiting prosecution. Tran and Kim could be called as witnesses to testify against the remaining suspects, prosecutors said.

Before Wednesday’s sentencing, Deputy Dist. Atty. Jeff Levy read letters from the victims to Judge Joy W. Markman. One of the rape victims said the attacks left her doomed to a “lifetime of pain.”

Levy said he thought the sentences were fair, keeping in mind the two suspects’ role in the crime and their lack of criminal records.

“This is a fair and just thing for all sides,” Levy said.

If the pair testify in the trials for the other suspects and perjure themselves, the plea bargain could be withdrawn and they could face longer sentences, Levy said.