by Aaron Morrison, Associated Press Writer
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Police conducted a pre-dawn raid Thursday at a public housing complex where officials say a 7-year-old girl was gang-raped while her teenage stepsister got paid for it, and arrested 27 people on outstanding warrants.
The sweep on Rowan Towers was planned before the girl's attack, Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer said. Police hope the arrests will lead to tips to help them find those who assaulted the girl; otherwise, the arrests were unrelated to the case, he said.
"This is only the beginning," Palmer said. "We're not going to rest until that area is cleaned up so that decent people can live without the threat of fear and violence."
Police say the child's 15-year-old stepsister sold her to have sex with as many as seven men and boys at a party Sunday in a vacant apartment near their home. The stepsister was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault, promoting prostitution and other crimes.
Many of those arrested Thursday were women, who told The Associated Press the warrants were for minor infractions. Police did not immediately return calls for further details.
Residents said the assault was clearly at the forefront of police officers' agenda during the raid at the apartment building, a high-rise complex so dangerous that police are hired as security guards at night.
Tair Rivers, 27, said officers yelled, "What happened to the little girl?" as they arrested her and other women. Rivers was arrested for outstanding parking tickets, she said.
Rivers lives in 13-H, an apartment right across from 13-C where the party occurred. She said she was not home over the weekend but would not hesitate to tell police if she knew something.
"We all got kids," River said. "If we knew something, we would tell."
Police believe as many as a dozen people were at the party and say everyone in the apartment when the rape occurred could be legally culpable. There were security cameras at the complex and police said they were reviewing all available building surveillance videos.
According to police, the teenager and the 7-year-old were outside in the neighborhood Sunday when the older girl ran into two young men she knew who invited her to the party. The 7-year-old wanted to tag along because she was worried about the older girl's safety.
At the party, the 15-year-old starting having sex with several men for money and then gave the younger girl some cash to let a group of men touch her as she looked on, police said. It soon escalated to rape and the men threatened to kill the child if she screamed or told anyone, according to police.
The girl later put on her clothes and left the apartment; her older sister stayed. Two women found the child crying outside the apartment and walked her home.
The teenager's name was not released because of her age, but the county prosecutor plans to ask the court to try her as an adult. It was not clear who was representing the girl in juvenile court.
Interstate Realty Management Company, which manages the 15-story building, said about 150 people live there, and many of the apartments are vacant.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday called the incident "deplorable" in his first public comments on the crime that occurred in the shadow of the New Jersey Statehouse.
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Associated Press Writer Angela Delli Santi contributed to this report.
THIS WAS AN UPDATE TO THE EARLIER STORY, WHICH APPEARS BELOW.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A 15-year-old New Jersey girl prostituted herself and her 7-year-old stepsister to have sex with as many as seven men and boys at a weekend party near their home in a crime-plagued neighborhood, police said.
Trenton police Capt. Joseph Juniak said Wednesday that the older girl started by taking money to have sex with several men at the party of a high-rise apartment. The teen then gave some of the money she had collected to the younger girl to let the men start touching her, Juniak said.
"It went from touching to straight out assault and rape," Juniak said. "They threatened to kill her if she screamed or told anyone."
The child later put on her clothes and left the apartment; her sister stayed. Two women found the child crying outside the apartment and walked her home.
The teen is charged with aggravated sexual assault, promoting prostitution and other crimes. Her name was not released because of her age. She was being held in a juvenile detention facility in Mercer County, but police did not know whether she had an attorney.
A spokeswoman for the county prosecutor's office, Casey DeBlasio, said prosecutors would seek to have the teen tried as an adult.
Police believe as many as a dozen people were at the party. They are trying to track down the men and boys who attended and are reviewing building surveillance videos and additional arrests are expected.
Police said the girls were outside Sunday afternoon in the neighborhood when the 15-year-old ran into two young men she knew who invited her to a party at the apartment. Rather than leave the 7-year-old behind, the teen took her along.
At the party, the 15-year-old starting having sex with several of the men for money and then gave the younger girl some cash to let a group of men touch her, Juniak said. He would not say how much money was exchanged.
The girls' parents reported them missing late Sunday afternoon. Police had just arrived at the home when the 7-year-old returned, Juniak said, and told her parents what happened.
The child was treated at a hospital, and police said child protective services is working with the family to get her psychological help.
Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer called the crime "sickening" and said it was among the worst he's seen in his 20 years as mayor.
"The police are taking this personal," the mayor said. "I know there's a place in hell for all the people that participated in this and I'm sure they will get there."
"Personally as a father with a 7-year-old daughter, I can't imagine the horror," Palmer added.
The apartment building where the assault took place, Rowan Towers, sits in the shadow of the Statehouse and is well-known to police, who are hired by the building to handle security at night from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. Last week alone they responded to a home invasion there and shots fired outside the building.
It's unclear when the girls entered the building and whether any screams or cries were heard by anyone.
Police Director Irving Bradley Jr. said police have been meeting with building management, who recently agreed to have two officers work the night shift so that one could patrol the building's floors and hallway.
Many of the apartments are vacant. The renter of the 13-floor apartment where the party was held had not been home for quite a while, and investigators were trying to find out how the partygoers got in, Juniak said.
Juniak indicated that the 15-year-old previously had contact with child services, but he declined to elaborate or discuss the family's makeup, except to say the girls "considered themselves sisters." The state Department of Children and Families declined to say whether officials had interacted with the family, citing agency policy.
