{NY1 News} – Charges have been officially dropped against five teens accused of raping an 18-year-old woman in a Brooklyn playground.
On Thursday, a judge dismissed and sealed the charges against Ethan Phillip, Travis Beckford, Onandi Brown, Denzel Murray and Shaquille Cooper. Their ages range from 14 to 17 years old.
Prosecutors were unable to move forward with the case because the accuser did not cooperate with investigators.
The young woman claimed the teens chased her father away with a gun before raping her inside the Osborn Playground in January.
However, investigators found there was no gun involved and that the woman was actually having sex with her father in the playground.
One of the teens accused in this case says he is ready to move on with his life.
“I’m happy it’s over with,” Murray said. “Just going home and thinking about what happened. And making smarter decisions.”
“The presumption of innocence should always remain,” said Kenneth Montgomery, attorney for Denzel Murray. “No matter what the charges are, no matter who’s charged, no matter who’s doing the charging. And funny enough, we live in a society where young black men don’t always have the presumption of innocence.”
The attorneys representing the teens are blaming politicians and community activists for jumping the gun. READ MORE OF THIS STORY
