The Brooklyn district attorney has dropped all charges against five teens accused of gang-raping an 18-year-old girl — who had just had sex with her own father — in a Brownsville playground in January, citing her inconsistent accounts of the evening and unwillingness to cooperate with authorities.
The allegations against Denzel Murray, Ethan Phillip, Onandi Brown, Shaquell Cooper and Travis Beckford were marred by incongruous statements from the start, and further watered down by the discovery later that the young woman and her boozed-up biological father had been having sex in the park before they arrived.
“That night, this young woman’s father and the five young men engaged in conduct that was reprehensible and wrong, but because of the lack of reliable evidence, criminal charges simply cannot be sustained,” DA Ken Thompson said in a statement.
“She also refuses to cooperate with any prosecution against her father, who was engaging in sexual conduct with her,” the DA said. The woman had only recently reconnected with her father through Facebook.
Thompson also noted the complainant had recanted her allegations of forced sexual assault, as well as her initial statements that the boys had been carrying a gun. He added that she no longer wishes to pursue criminal charges against any of the defendants.
An investigation found that she did not have injuries consistent with being raped, but DNA from two of the defendants was found by a rape kit, sources said.
The slew of charges — including rape, sexual abuse and criminal sex acts — will be dismissed with prejudice.
“It is an overwhelming feeling to be facing these charges, and it is an overwhelming feeling to be exonerated of them,” Denzel Murray’s defense attorney, Ken Montgomery, told The Post.
“Onandi and his family are thrilled and relieved by the news,” added Brown’s attorney, Spencer Leeds. “He’s going to do his best to try and put this incident behind him.”