GUILTY NJ - Gregory Leary & others for sexual assault of 7yo girl, Trenton, 2010

[reen]

The comment thread has grown more interesting by now, too.

I had a feeling that recent article that the confessions were coerced would get used against the prosecution, aaaannnnd here we go:

http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2010/04/22/news/doc4bcfc088e20fa105065262.txt

 

[Missizzy]

I've watched for updates on this nasty case and I finally found one. It's not real uplifting however. Just as I was afraid, it's turned into a morass.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/a...ustice_in_nj_child_rape_falling_short/?page=1

Vows for justice in NJ child rape falling short


"The allegations were unthinkable, the outrage immediate, justice promised: A 7-year-old girl had been handed over to a group of men and boys by her older 15-year-old stepsister and gang-raped...."

and

"....Nearly five months later, vows for legal vengeance are falling short and officials aren't talking. Calls for justice have quieted and defense attorneys are raising questions about what happened -- or didn't happen -- that day. "The case is falling apart and I think it's time to address that...."

and

"....prosecutors have revealed in court papers that preliminary DNA tests showed no semen was found in samples taken from the girl...."

more at link

 

[Linda7NJ]

Hmmmmm, surely there is some "touch DNA" ...?

Was good enough to "clear" the Ramseys............:banghead:

 

[not_my_kids]

Never mind, I read that completely wrong.

Next question, wouldn't there be some other way to have checked the girl for assault? I really think that anyone that is sophisticated enough to set this up would be sophisticated enough to think of things like DNA evidence and eliminating it.

And how many sex offenders can one child be exposed to in a lifetime? That is just horrendous. It seems almost a miracle that she was even able to seek help at all.

 

[Linda7NJ]

How is a sex offender attorney even allowed to represent sex offenders? I'm sorry, but for some reason I glommed onto that...why isn't there a law against that? Or is there, and I just missed that part? Sorry, I can be law-dumb sometimes.

The constitution grants everyone the right to a fair trial and that includes a defense.

 

[not_my_kids]

I caught that Linda, I totally read it wrong.

 

[Texas Mist]

Girl takes plea in case of stepsister's gang rape

By Beth DeFalco
Associated Press

TRENTON - All sex-related charges against a 15-year-old Trenton girl accused of selling her 7-year-old stepsister to a group of men and boys for sex at a party have been dropped, prosecutors said Thursday.
................
The teenager originally was charged with aggravated sexual assault, criminal restraint, terroristic threats, promoting prostitution, and endangering the welfare of a minor, and Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini Jr. had said he would push to try her as an adult. On Tuesday, the girl pleaded guilty in juvenile court to child endangerment and was sentenced to a year in juvenile detention, where she has been since her March 30 arrest.

The girl would have faced much more time if convicted of the other charges.

As part of her plea, Superior Court Judge F. Lee Forrester ordered her to have no contact with her stepsister and to provide truthful testimony and cooperation with prosecutors, who have related cases against five other people.

more here

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20101119_Charges_cut_in_sale_of_girl.html

 

[Texas Mist]

TRENTON, N.J. - December 3, 2010 -- Prosecutors have offered plea deals that would drop sex charges against all but one of the six defendants accused of participating in what police said was the gang-rape of a 7-year-old in New Jersey.
.......................................
With no DNA evidence and the 15-year-old changing her story, defense attorneys say the case weakened.

more here

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=7823320

 

[Missizzy]

This case was a morass from the very beginning. I'm sure some horrible things went on in that room but we'll never know the whole truth due to lies and over-reaching interrogation techniques used with disabled youth. I stand by my original take on it. The 15 year is a victim too. I doubt if that poor girl knows right from wrong or up from down after being raised in the environment she was. My heart breaks for all children growing up in poverty and without a moral compass. We have come to expect these stories from Haiti and Darfur (but we should NEVER be complacent about them!!) but not from New Jersey.

Hopefully some eyes will be opened by this case.

 

[impatientredhead]

The 15 year old is coming back into society in less than a year (I am assuming she has been in custody and has some time served?). I certainly hope most of that year is spent on extensive therapy and some type of education that is going to prepare her to be dropped right back into the middle of this cesspool.

I know many don't think she is being punished adequately, but this is how the case shook down. If the system doesn't help her (and I am guessing that is extremely unlikely) she is going to come right back out as a street hustler and this is just the first time we are going to be seeing a victim associated with her.

Without serious help she will most likely just give birth to the next generation and expose them to the same sex offenders she has been around, that she brought her sister around, and the cycle just keeps going.

I really hope the 7 year is getting some early intervention. Being she a victim maybe there will be more resources available to her. But will these parents pursue them?

 

[JoeFromLB]

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2011/03/trenton_man_accused_in_rowan_t.html

March 11, 2011

The remaining defendant in the Rowan Towers rape case pleaded guilty to child endangerment today, wrapping up the state’s case without a single sex charge against a group of males accused of gang-raping a 7-year-old last year.

Gregory Leary, 20, the eldest of the five defendants, pleaded guilty to child endangerment for bringing the child and her 15-year-old stepsister to a party at the high rise apartment building where sex and drug activities took place.

He will be sentenced to probation in a deal that calls for prosecutors to drop aggravated sexual assault charges and statutory rape charges against him.

"I knew the truth was going to come out," said Leary who spent seven months behind bars before a judge reduced his $500,000 bail.

 

[JoeFromLB]

Last defendant in Rowan Towers rape case sentenced to probation

http://www.nj.com/news/times/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-22/130414232412881.xml&coll=5

April 30, 2011

TRENTON -- Thirteen months after the city erupted in outrage over reports that a 7-year-old had been sold for sex and gang-raped at a party in a local high-rise -- an allegation that was never proved -- the last defendant in the case was sentenced to probation yesterday.

Twenty-year-old Gregory Leary, the oldest of the five males arrested last spring, had pleaded guilty to child endangerment for bringing the girl and her 15-year-old stepsister to the apartment where drugs and sexual activities took place.

Police had charged Leary with sexually assaulting both girls, but prosecutors dropped the charges when they could find no physical evidence to support those claims. Leary, who vehemently denied the charges, spent seven months behind bars before a judge reduced his $500,000 bail.

 

[LCoastMom]

Sadly the seven year old was handed a life sentence...