2 Men Held in Rape of 11-Year-Old Fresno Girl

An 11-year-old Fresno girl was raped Saturday by as many as 10 men, many of whom are current or former football players at Fresno City College or Reedley College, police said Sunday.

“We do know that a sexual assault did occur,” Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said at a televised news conference, noting that physical evidence had been obtained at the site that “substantiates the victim’s account.”

Dyer said two men had been arrested and that police were looking for as many as eight others who may have been involved in the assault at a Fresno-area apartment complex that houses several members of the Fresno City College football team.

The 11-year-old is a “potential runaway” from a group home, Dyer said, and on Saturday night went voluntarily to one of the apartments, where she knew at least one of the men who either lived there or frequented the complex.

She later fled the apartment, by one account seeking help from someone on the street. Dyer said police had first been alerted by another individual.

The victim was examined by physicians at University Medical Center and reportedly suffered minor physical injuries.

Dyer said he did not know her condition.

Two residents were arrested at the apartment where the incident took place.

Mackey Davis, 20, and Eddie Scott, 19, were booked on one count each of child molestation with a victim under age 14 and oral copulation with a victim under 18.

There is “strong reason to believe that both of these individuals are involved in the sexual assault,” Dyer said.

Scott is listed on Reedley College’s website as a 6-foot-3, 200-pound wide receiver on the 2005 team, though he may have transferred to Fresno City College.

Dyer said police are seeking as many as eight other men suspected of being involved, including four from another apartment in the complex.

They either currently or previously attended either of the two colleges and played football.

Calls and e-mails to Fresno City College officials were not immediately returned Sunday night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.