New Jersey Newsroom
The results from preliminary DNA tests found no evidence of semen on the 7-year-old Trenton girl who police claim was gang raped at a house party inside of the Rowan Towers apartment complex almost three months ago.
1010wins.com reported that the lack of DNA evidence would not cripple the state's case against the defendants, citing a court document written by Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor, Jennifer Downing that read, "The majority of the state's sexual assault cases are prosecuted without the benefit of (DNA) evidence."
Prosecutors say in lieu of DNA, they have physical evidence, such as injuries to the girl that are consistent with a sexual assault.
Downing, who also said that the state does not intend to try the step-sister or the 13, 14 and 17-year-old juveniles as adults, requested that the court reduce bail for 20-year-old Gregory Leary and 19-year-old Timear Lewis to $75,000.
The stepfather of the 7-year-old victim, who is the biological father of the 17-year-old step-sister, defended Leary, Lewis and the 17-year-old defendants after their arrests telling the Associated Press, "These three had nothing to do with nothing; I don't know why they locked them up," the stepfather said.
"My daughter said these guys were trying to help her."
The stepfather, whose 15-year-old daughter has been charged with promoting prostitution, aggravated sexual assault and other crimes, later said he believed his daughter was raped by "a lot" of men; just not the three he said helped her.
Leary, who has been charged with aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, and statutory rape for having sex with the 15-year-old stepsister, denies raping the 7-year-old. However, Downing said there are "several witnesses" from the party who have said they saw Leary "on top of the 7-year-old," raping her.
At Leary's first court appearance his attorney, Robin Lord argued the victim was "pressured to make up the story" and added that the girl's memory is "forever tainted" because she been given toys, gifts and money.
Lord, said the victim fabricated the claim because she was in trouble for running away with her 15-year-old stepsister on March 30.
"She was not raped, was not gang-raped," Lord told the court almost three months ago. "I'm 100 percent certain that the 7-year-old was not sexually assaulted. The allegations will not be substantiated by any forensic evidence."
An article in the New Jersey Trentonian reports that Downing, who said she wants to resolve the juvenile cases before offering plea deals to the adults, has offered plea deals to the juvenile defendants in exchange for their testimony against Leary and Lewis.
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