Charges dropped in alleged gang rape at Brownsville playground after victim recants story

BROWNSVILLE, Brooklyn -- (WPIX) -- Charges have been dropped against the five teens accused of raping an 18-year-old girl at a Brownsville playground last month after the victim recanted her story.

According to Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson Wednesday, the victim recanted her allegations of the forced assault which she said happened Jan. 7.

The teens accused — ages 14, 15, 15, 17 and 17 — were originally charged as adults, each with one count of rape, two counts of criminal sex act, and one count of sex abuse in connection with the alleged Jan. 7 assault.

At about 9 p.m. on the night of the attack, the young woman said she was with her father at Osborne Park in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn when a group of five teens came up to them.

The father, who was the first to report the incident, told police one of the boys pulled out a gun and ordered him to leave. He did and that's when the suspected attackers took turns raping the 18-year-old, according to the victim.

The father went for help and when he came back with two uniformed officers, the culprits ran away, he said.

Officers found the young woman heavily intoxicated and later learned she'd been drinking in the park with her father, a police source told PIX11 News. She allegedly refused to get into an ambulance and bit an officer, the source said.

Along with recanting her story, the victim also refuses to cooperate with any prosecution against her father, who the DA said was engaging in sexual conduct with her.

"It is my fervent hope that this young woman gets all the support that she needs going forward. My office, including our victim advocates who have been working with this young woman, stand ready to provide her with any assistance she may need," Thompson said.