11 yr old TX girl gang-raped by 20 males, 14 adults arrested & 6 juveniles. Two adults, Eric McGowen sentenced to 99 yrs, Jared Len Cruse gets life, Other men sentenced up to 15 yrs, Juveniles receive probation, Adult Carlos Bernard Ligons trial date has

CLEVELAND, TX -- An alleged sexual assault of a Texas girl involving nearly 20 people was recorded on cell phones, and a video of the alleged incident was circulating among students in her school district, according to court documents obtained Tuesday.

As of Monday, 13 adults and five juveniles had been arrested as part of the investigation, authorities said. A defense attorney for one of the suspects told CNN affiliate KPRC that the number of suspects could increase.

"I don't know the exact number of people involved," James Evans said. "I've heard as many as 28 or more."

The case has sharply divided the community, according to CNN affiliate KHOU, which reported the girl was 11 years old.

Darrel Broussard, assistant police chief for the Cleveland, Texas, Police Department, said Monday that the investigation into the incident "is continuous," with more significant developments possible. Cleveland is about 50 miles northeast of Houston.

"There have been leads during our investigation that have alerted us to other possible persons of interest," Broussard told CNN. "The investigation is ongoing."

The 18 individuals charged thus far are between 14 and 27 years old, he said. Those who are adults were indicted last month on a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

On Friday, the Cleveland Police Department announced that four students in the Cleveland Independent School District had been arrested on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14. The juveniles appeared Monday in a Liberty County court in the town of Liberty.

Police noted that some but not all suspects are students at Cleveland High School.

Mike Little, the district attorney in Liberty County, said police would likely decide whether more people would be charged. He offered few other details, saying Monday, "We are very careful about pretrial publicity."

The incident allegedly happened November 28 at two residences in Cleveland, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by CNN on Tuesday.

The girl told a school district police chief about the incident, who notified Cleveland police on December 3, the affidavit said. The chief then interviewed employees of the Cleveland Independent School District who had heard of the incident, according to the documents. One employee spoke with several students "who had seen the cell phone videos or heard of the incident," according to the affidavit.

The girl told a forensic interviewer from a child advocacy center that one suspect called her "and asked if she wanted to ride around" on that day, the affidavit said. Three of the suspects picked her up and took her to one residence where a fourth suspect lived. The fourth suspect told her to take her clothes off, she said, adding that "he would have some girls 'beat her up' or she would not be taken back to her residence if she did not comply." the affidavit said.

The girl said she engaged in sexual acts in the bedroom and bathroom of the residence. While in the bathroom, she said, she heard one suspect on the phone inviting other people over to have sex with her, and said when she came out of the bathroom four men she did not know were there, the affidavit said.

The aunt of the suspect arrived home, however, and "the victim and the other individuals left the residence in haste through the rear window of the house," according to the affidavit. After leaving, the girl said she and the others went to an abandoned trailer where the sexual acts continued, the affidavit said.

"Victim stated that digital still images and digital video images of the sex acts were recorded by one or more individuals using cellular telephones," according to the affidavit.

Broussard told CNN on Tuesday that it took authorities months to investigate the incident and obtain indictments and arrest warrants. "To put together the case, it takes time to do that," he said.

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An abandoned trailer in Cleveland, Texas where authorities say an 11-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in November, 2010.

The 11-year-old Texas girl was allegedly gang-raped in an abandoned trailer. The suspects -- 18 of them -- range in age from middle-schoolers to a 27-year-old. The story came to light when a classmate of the girl told a teacher of seeing video of the attack on a cellphone. And if you think somebody can't make the rape and exploitation of a child about victim blaming, you didn't read the slanted, ill-conceived piece in Tuesday's New York Times.

In a feature by James C. McKinley Jr., the paper of record speculates on how the small town of Cleveland, Texas, has been rocked by the story, and the torturous question of "how could their young men have been drawn into such an act." How, indeed? It's surely a horrifying scenario when 18 young men are implicated in a crime of violence and degradation. The victim's affidavit says the assault began when a local 19-year-old offered her a ride in his car, and escalated to a protracted group assault, featuring "threats she would be beaten if she did not comply" and participants recording the abuse on their phones. How could these boys have been "drawn into such an act"? Was it drugs, sociopathy, coercion? Or was that little girl just asking for it?

After all, as the Times helpfully points out, "Residents in the neighborhood where the abandoned trailer stands -- known as the Quarters -- said the victim had been visiting various friends there for months. They said she dressed older than her age, wearing makeup and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her 20s. She would hang out with teenage boys at a playground, some said." Gosh, I wonder if she's pretty or you know, developed, because that's relevant too.

Because of her age, very few of the details of the victim's life are known. Maybe she was from a troubled home, and maybe she was indeed dressing older and wearing makeup. But let's just get something clear. She's an 11-year-old child who was reportedly gang-raped by as many as 18 young men, who then had her abuse flaunted around her hometown by her abusers. But the issue some townspeople are concerned with is how, as one resident says, "These boys have to live with this the rest of their lives."

I have an 11-year-old daughter. I know a lot of 11-year-old girls. Some of them are still remarkably innocent, and some of them are rather precocious. I can assure James C. McKinley Jr. and the New York Times that none of them -- even the ones who wear lipstick and jeggings, even the one who live in or have friends in the worst parts of our neighborhood, are courting a gang rape.

The search for explanations for an unfathomably awful event is more than understandable -- it's a journalistic imperative. McKinley clearly attempted to take the temperature of the community, to explore the impact of what happened in that trailer on the town and its residents. Yet the story too often seems to circle back to the wrong participants in it. The Times quotes a neighbor lamenting, "Where was her mother? What was her mother thinking? How can you have an 11-year-old child missing down in the Quarters?" The anguish over the attack -- the implication that perhaps this was a child who was not protected at home -- is understandable. And it's crucial to make sure the correct people are being sought and punished.

The question, however, is not what that girl or her mother did to bring this on. And it's sloppy journalism for a reporter to run a story that casts a victim and her mother as somehow responsible for an attack, especially without including a single quote from anyone in town with a more sympathetic view of the family. That's far from the balanced journalism the Times aspires to. The girl's mother, identified only as Maria, told the New York Daily news this week that the family has received several angry phone calls, and that the child has been moved to foster care for her protection. "These guys knew she was in middle school," she said. "You could tell whenever you talked to her. She still loves stuffed teddy bears." Where's that quote in the Times story?

It's a painful thing to contemplate that a girl's circumstances may have made her more vulnerable to attack. But being vulnerable does not put the burden of what happens on the victim. No 11-year-old deserves a word of questioning or doubt on that front. No one who has ever been sexually assaulted, and certainly none who has ever been sexually assaulted in such a sustained and inhumane way, deserves to have her makeup or clothing brought into the conversation, regardless of her age. And how demoralizing, how outrageous, how sickening that once again, when a female is brutally and inhumanely attacked, the issue of what her multiple assailants apparently did somehow pales next to the curiosity over what she must have done to provoke it.

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More than a dozen teens and men are believed to be involved in the nightmarish gang rape of an 11-year-old girl in Texas.

At least 16 people, ranging in age from 14 to 27, have been arrested in the past four months in the small town of Cleveland, 50 miles northeast of Houston.

The most recent came Friday, when police busted four high school students. Authorities believe more arrests are likely.

"There have been leads during our investigation that have alerted us to other possible persons of interest," Cleveland Assistant Police Chief Darrell Broussard told CNN. "The investigation is ongoing."

The girl, whose name has not been released because of her age, told police at least 20 people attacked her last Thanksgiving. The vicious assult was caught on camera and video, authorities said.

The macabre attack began when 19-year-old Timothy Ellis lured the girl out of her home and asked if she wanted to go "riding around," according to a police officer's statement obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

Cops said he took her to an empty house and forced her to strip under threat of violence. Several other men showed up and each raped her.

The sickos then took the 11-year-old to an abandoned trailer, where they continued to have sex with her, as well as use cell phones to take pictures and record video.

"These guys knew she was in middle school," the girl's mother, identified only as Maria, told reporters. "You could tell whenever you talked to her. She still loves stuffed teddy bears."

The video quickly went viral, sparking arrests after the teens in it were recognized by fellow students. The victim, described as a troubled young girl, was also recognized by several people.

"It just seems like a dream," said Sherry Fletcher, who told reporters her 20-year-old son is among those accused. "I just hope everything comes out well, because some of these kids are innocent."

A judge has placed a gag order on the case, and police have requested that the girl's family "relocate" as tensions rise in the town of 9,000.

Maria said she had received repeated, angry phone calls from people looking for the girl, who has been placed in foster care and hasn't been allowed to see her family.

"The police think we may be in danger," Maria said, "because if they can't get my 11-year-old, they might take out their revenge on us."

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Police arrest 16 in gang rape of 11-year-old girl in Cleveland, Texas

Wed Mar 09 2011 03:39:55 GMT-0600 (Central Standard Time) by ANI

New York, Mar 9 (ANI): At least 16 people, ranging in age from 14 to 27, have been arrested in connection with the nightmarish gang rape of an 11-year-old girl in Texas.

The incident, which had taken place in the small town of Cleveland, 50 miles northeast of Houston, came to light after a video, taken during the rape, went viral.

“There have been leads during our investigation that have alerted us to other possible persons of interest,” the New York Daily News quoted Cleveland Assistant Police Chief Darrell Broussard as telling CNN.

“The investigation is ongoing,” he stated.

The girl, whose name has not been released because of her age, told police at least 20 people attacked her last Thanksgiving. The vicious assault was caught on camera and video, authorities said.

The macabre attack began when 19-year-old Timothy Ellis lured the girl out of her home and asked if she wanted to go “riding around”, according to a police officer’s statement obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

Cops said he took her to an empty house and forced her to strip under threat of violence. Several other men showed up and each raped her.

They then took the 11-year-old to an abandoned trailer, where they continued to have sex with her, as well as use cell phones to take pictures and record video.

“These guys knew she was in middle school. You could tell whenever you talked to her. She still loves stuffed teddy bears,” the girl’s mother, identified only as Maria, said.

The video, which quickly went viral, sparked arrests after the teens in it were recognized by fellow students. The victim, described as a troubled young girl, was also recognized by several people.

A judge has placed a gag order on the case, and police have requested the girl’s family to “relocate” as the tension is rising in the town of 9,000.

Maria said she had received repeated, angry phone calls from people looking for the girl, who has been placed in foster care and hasn’t been allowed to see her family.

“The police think we may be in danger, because if they can’t get my 11-year-old, they might take out their revenge on us,” Maria added. (ANI)

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How sick and depraved is this?????

Eighteen people have been arrested in the alleged gang rape of an 11-year-old girl in a small town just north of Houston, Texas, officials said Monday.

Cleveland, Texas Police Department Darrell Broussard told CNN that 18 people, aged 14 to 27, had been arrested, but with ongoing investigations revealing further leads, more people could be detained.

Late last year, the 11-year-old girl was allegedly raped at one of the suspects' home and at an abandoned mobile home by several teenage students and adults.

According to official records, one of the suspects, Timothy Ellis, 19, asked the girl if she wanted to go 'ride around' before ending up at his home. At his bedroom, the girl was told to take off her clothes, threatening her that if she did not comply, a group of girls would 'beat her up' and she would not be taken back home.

The arrest warrant later states that several individuals had sex with the girl while others took pictures and videos, but Ellis' aunt arrived shortly after, prompting everyone to flee. The acts later continued at an abandoned mobile home.

While several students say the girl was willing to have sexual relations with the men, arguing that she looked well over 11, many residents believe the suspects deserve the maximum punishment, which in this case of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child under 14, is life in prison.

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For the past 4 months, horrific allegations of sexual assault against an 11-year-old child have rocked the small Texas town of Cleveland.

Cleveland is the sort of small town where everyone knows everyone, and the men and boys accused in this crime include high school star athletes, the son of an elected leader, and older men with criminal records.

In all, 16 people have been arrested, and while no one from the Cleveland Police department would grant an on-the-record interview, sources say more arrests could be on the way.

The most recent arrests took place on March 4. Four students , including two members of the Cleveland High School basketball team, were arrested.

The high school basketball team is coached by the younger brother of Cleveland's assistant police chief. As the boys made their first court appearance at the Liberty County Courthouse, Assistant Police Chief Darrel Broussard shot down rumors that his investigators waited until basketball season was over before they arrested his brother's players.

"I have not been directly involved in the investigation," Broussard said. "All the adults were indicted on one day. The cases involving minors were handled through the county attorney's office."

The basketball players in question include a sophomore and a junior. Both are underage.

Timothy Ellis, 19, is among the adults now charged in the crime. His mother, Anita Ellis Hancock, spoke to FOX 26 News on Monday.

FOX 26: When you found out that your son was accused of raping an 11 year old girl...(interrupted by Hancock)

Hancock: It was in the paper.

FOX 26: What did you do? Did you talk to your son?

Hancock: Yes I did. Yes I did. I said, 'Baby, I'm your momma. You can talk to me.' (The victim) said she was 17 years old and that's what he told me.

FOX 26: But Anita, a lot of people would say, 'This is an 11 year old child. Even if she lied, she's eleven.'

Hancock: I understand that. I understand that. I'm not defending him. I'm not defending her. I'm not defending no child because if it were my child, I would feel the same way. My point is, where was her mother?

FOX 26: If this was reversed. If your son wasn't your son, but you were the mother of this 11 year old, what would you do? What would you say? What is justice?

Hancock: First of all, I would know where she was. That's the justice. Not knowing where your baby is is not justice. I feel like she should be accounted for not knowing where your baby at.

FOX 26: What lesson does you son need to learn?

Hancock: ID. Identification. This (holding up nametag and picture) is what you ask for baby.

FOX 26: So you're going to tell your son, next time he meets a girl to ask for her ID?

Hancock: Identification.

FOX 26: Are you mad at your son?

Hancock: Am I mad at him? For not being alert of age and not asking 'how old are you?' He was the only one who turned himself in because he felt bad because he has nieces. He said, "Mama ain't no way.' You can just feel the hurt.

FOX 26 does not identify victims of sexual assaults or their families. Up until recently, the victim's family lived just outside the Cleveland city limits. Neighbors say the family moved on Sunday in order to get away from the fallout surrounding the case.

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All Maria wanted was to see her 11-year-old daughter.
Weeks ago, the girl had been hushed away to a "safe house" for her own protection - after the phone calls started, and the disturbing, sexually explicit videos began surfacing in this town of 9,000 about 50 miles north of downtown Houston.
Seventeen men and boys, including a middle school student and adults in their 20s, have been charged with sexually assaulting Maria's daughter, a sixth-grader, in a dingy trailer. That number could grow to 28.
Last week, while hospitalized for an illness, Maria finally received a brief visit from the girl.
"My daughter was crying and crying and hugging on me," Maria said. "She didn't want to leave. She misses her family and wants to come home."
But the family's tiny gray wooden home off a long, dark forested road on the outskirts of town is no longer considered safe for the 11-year-old. Child Protective Services put the girl in a foster home for her protection and restricted her family from even speaking to her, the family said.
Local officials say the attack has devastated this close-knit community, leaving many to wonder who will be charged next. There's talk that a star athlete at Cleveland High School was seen sexually assaulting the girl on the video. The son of a local school board member is involved, too.
Someone has been making phone calls to Maria's house. Police fear they're coming from people seeking retribution.
"They keep calling and asking for her," said Maria, whose last name is not being printed to protect her daughter's identity. "They don't believe me when I say she's not here and cuss us out. They're trying to find her. This is the time when she needs us the most."
Music blaring
Cleveland, a town whose history dates to 1836, is nestled near the picturesque Sam Houston National Forest. Timber, cattle, farming and oil fuel the town's economy.
Normally a quiet place, the community recently has been in an uproar over a looming election to recall three City Council members accused of mismanagement.
When the sex assault story broke wide open in recent weeks, the town gained further unwanted attention.
The editor of the Cleveland Advocate, Vanesa Brashier, who has kept her hand on the pulse of this community, said, “Feelings are raw as these things keep happening and then there’s no time to heal. Our town has been in the spotlight too much lately.”
Some Cleveland residents, like Kisha Williams, are critical of the 11-year-old’s parents.
“Where were they when this girl was seen wandering at all hours with no supervision and pretending to be much older?” she asked.
Several churches have organized special prayer events for the town.
Carter Williams, 64, seated at a small card table playing dominoes inside a local grocery, does not think laying blame is the right response to the sex assault.
“This is a praying time for the young men and the young girl,” Williams said. “Seems like everyone in this whole town needs some God in their life.”
Inside a trailer
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, retiree Joe Harrison noticed an 11-year-old girl as he walked past an abandoned trailer to play dominoes with friends in what locals call "the Hood."
He thought the girl looked older than her years with her long hair and dark makeup. She was standing near the aging brown trailer, which was partially covered by a blue tarp and had remained unoccupied since Hurricane Ike except for an occasional drug user who would sneak inside to smoke crack.
Later, Harrison heard loud music blaring from that same trailer on Ross Street. But he thought the girl had already been picked up by her mother. He never realized anything horrible might have happened until weeks later when the arrests started.
"I have a granddaughter that age and can't imagine anything like that happening to her," he said. "Whoever did this should pay for it."
Cleveland police say the 11-year-old was sexually assaulted inside that trailer and a small blue house with white trim around the corner.
The assaults happened Nov. 28 after a 19-year-old with prior drug convictions persuaded the young girl to leave her house and go "riding around" with him and two other young men, according to a Cleveland police officer's sworn statement.
They first went to the blue house, where she was ordered to disrobe. If she refused, the statement said, she was warned other girls would beat her up and she would never get a ride back home.
Soon she was having sex with multiple young men there, the statement said. Someone used a phone to invite four more men, who soon arrived.
Not long afterward, the group fled through a back window when they heard a relative of one of the teens arriving at the blue house. The 11-year-old left behind her bra and panties as the group moved to the nearby abandoned trailer, where the assaults continued. As the men had sex with the girl, others used their cell phones to take photographs and video, police said.
Familiar faces in video
Over the next two days, the recordings went viral around school. One student who recognized the girl and several of the young men, including star athletes, in the videos, alerted school authorities and triggered the investigation.
So far, 17 suspects have been charged, ranging in age from a middle-schooler to a 27-year-old. Seven are high school students, including two members of Cleveland's state-ranked basketball team. Another is the 21-year-old son of a school board member. Several have prior criminal records for drug sales, aggravated robbery and manslaughter.
James D. Evans III, an attorney who represents three of the defendants, insists: "This is not a case of a child who was enslaved or taken advantage of."
Investigators note an 11-year-old can never legally give consent.
On her Facebook page, the 11-year-old tells whomever she befriends that she's aware people have probably heard about her, but she doesn't care what they think.
"If you dislike me, deal with it," she wrote.
Sometimes she comes across like a little girl, such as when she talks of her special talent for making "weird sound effects" and "running in circles" to overcome nervousness.
But she also makes flamboyant statements about drinking, smoking and sex. Yet her vulnerability pokes through the tough veneer as she tells of "being hurt many times," where she "settled for less" and "let people take advantage" and "walk all over" her. She vows to learn from her mistakes.
While Maria said she never saw any of her daughter's Internet postings, she believes her 11-year-old might have been seeking misguided attention.
Earlier signs of trouble
Shortly before the video recordings surfaced at school, there was a sign of trouble. Her daughter had borrowed her father's cell phone, and afterward Maria discovered a lurid photo of a young man that had been e-mailed to it.
"I asked about it, and she said she knew nothing. So I told her I was taking it to the police, and I did," Maria said. "They still have the phone. And I've not heard anything back."
Meanwhile, not only has the girl been forced from the town where she was born, but authorities also want the entire family to relocate.
"The police think we may be in danger. Because if they can't get my 11-year-old, they might take out their revenge on us," said Maria, as extra patrols are making rounds down her street.
Neither Cleveland police nor Child Protective Services would discuss the safety issue or a closed-door hearing with the family held Friday in Coldspring. State District Judge Elizabeth Coker said a gag order has been issued.
Struggle for children
Maria's two older daughters, who are in advanced placement classes and the band, and her 9-year-old son have all cried about being uprooted. However, the 11-year-old, who was withdrawn from Cleveland schools when the videos surfaced, is enrolled in gifted and talented classes at her new school and is "doing fine," Maria said.
Yet life for the children has been a struggle, as their father cannot find carpentry work and their mother earns very little by cleaning houses. The mortgage holder recently notified the family that they were being evicted but gave them extra time because of the family crisis.
The stress has grown so intense, the 16-year-old daughter said, that her parents considered separating, while the 11-year-old is having regrets about following through with the case.
But Maria wants those who stole her daughter's childhood prosecuted. She said her daughter was threatened with beatings or death if she refused to cooperate.
"These guys knew she was in middle school," Maria said. "You could tell that whenever you talked to her. She still loves stuffed bears."

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It was a busy day in the Liberty County Courthouse Monday as four young men accused in the alleged gang-rape of an 11-year-old Cleveland girl appeared before a judge.
So far, more than 15 suspects have been arrested in the case, some of whom are juveniles and Cleveland ISD students.
Investigators believe there could be even more suspects.
"I’ve heard as many as 28 or more. The case now has 16, 17 people who have been arrested," defense attorney James Evans III said.
Evans represents four of the accused.
"It’s a tragic situation, as we all have come to realize. The families are dealing with it – it’s a very stressful environment," Evans said.
Media was not allowed in the courtroom Monday, and the suspects’ families declined to comment.
All four of the defendants who were in court – Marcus Porchia, Rayford Ellis, Isaiah Ross and Kelvin King – are pleading not guilty.
The charges came after the 11-year-old girl reported the alleged assault to her principal’s office. She said it happened over the Thanksgiving holiday at an abandoned mobile home in Cleveland.
Prosecutors also declined to comment Monday, but more court dates are scheduled for April.

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Dirty: This is the inside of the abandoned mobile home where the alleged rape occurred

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Rayford Tyrone Jr.Ellis


Cedrick Deray Scott


Eric Berbnard McGowen


Timothyn Daray Ellis


Carlos Bernard Ligons


Jared Len Cruse


Isaiah Rashard Ross


Accused: Jamarcus Norris Napper (top left); Jared Glenn McPherson (top center); Kelvin Rashad King (top right); Marcus Anthony Porchia (bottom left); Xavier King (bottom center); Devo Shaun Green (bottom right)

Speaking to KPRC news, defence attorney James Evans said: 'I don't know the exact number of people involved, I've heard as many as 28 or more.'
Speaking to the news network, assistant police chief Darrel Broussard said the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
He said: 'There have been leads during our investigation that have alerted us to other possible persons of interest.
'The investigation is ongoing.'
Further details of the alleged incident emerged today after CNN obtained a copy of the search warrant affidavit.
According to the document, the alleged incident happened November 28 at two residences in Cleveland.
Police became aware of the alleged rape after the girl told a school district police chief about the incident on December 3.
Police then interviewed school employees who had heard of the incident, according to the documents.
Shockingly, one employee spoke with several students: 'Who had seen the cell phone videos or heard of the incident,' the affidavit said.
The alleged victim was then interviewed at a child advocacy centre, and said that one suspect called her, 'and asked if she wanted to ride around,' the warrant said.
Three of the suspects then picked her up and took her to one residence where a fourth suspect lived, the network reported.
The fourth suspect told her to disrobe, she said, adding that she would be beaten up if she did not comply,' the affidavit recorded.
The girl was then said to have engaged in sexual acts in the bedroom and bathroom of the house.
While in the bathroom, the girl said she heard one suspect calling and inviting other people to have sex with her.
After she left the bathroom, she saw four men she did not know, the affidavit said.
The party were however disturbed when the aunt of one of the suspects returned home.
The alleged victim and the men then, 'left the residence in haste through the rear window of the house,' the affidavit said.
The group then moved to an abandoned trailer where the sexual acts continued, the affidavit said.
Finally, the affidavit noted that the alleged victim, 'Stated that digital still images and digital video images of the sex acts were recorded by one or more individuals using cellular telephones.'
The sixth-grade victim has since been withdrawn from school.
She has apparently told investigators that up to 20 men were involved in the alleged rape.
The victim is thought to have been taken away from her mother and relatives and put into protective care for her own safety.
Speaking to the Houston Chronicle, the alleged victim's mother said she had been advised to move from the area due to the pressure of the trial.
It was also reported that she had received threatening phone calls to her house.
Sherry Fletcher, whose 20-year-old son Devo Shaun Green is among those charged, spoke to the network about her son's arrest.
She said: 'It just seems like a dream.
'I just hope everything comes out well, because some of these kids are innocent.'
The New York Times reported that residents in the 9,000 strong town said the alleged victim had been visiting friends in the trailer - known locally as the quarters - for months prior to the incident.
The paper added that they thought she wore make up and clothes more suitable for someone in their 20's.
Speaking to the paper, neighbour Mrs Harrison said: 'Where was her mother. What was her mother thinking.
'How can you have an 11-year-old child missing down in the quarters.'
On Friday, Cleveland police announced that four students in the school district had been arrested on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14.
Cleveland school authorities say those arrested included an 11th-grader, 10th-grader, ninth-grader and a middle school student.
The arrests include two players on Cleveland's state-ranked basketball team.
Due to the sheer number of arrests, the case has divided the community, with local people not sure who will be accused next.
Some of those charged are from local Cleveland high school, while all 18 are understood to be from the town.

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BJ wrote:

Because of her age, very few of the details of the victim's life are known. Maybe she was from a troubled home, and maybe she was indeed dressing older and wearing makeup. But let's just get something clear. She's an 11-year-old child who was reportedly gang-raped by as many as 18 young men, who then had her abuse flaunted around her hometown by her abusers. But the issue some townspeople are concerned with is how, as one resident says, "These boys have to live with this the rest of their lives."

A hero needs to find the person that made this comment and hang her/him up by their ears.....or worse.

I agree BJ I think people that try to blame this girl should be hung up by their ears. I do have to say I am glad they removed the girl from her home. No 11 yr old should have that kind of freedom or experience a gang rape from lack of proper parental supervision. I feel bad her family is going through this hell but if the Dad was unemployed where was he when this 19 yr old picked up his 11 yr old daughter?

Disgusted by this I cannot tell you. I hope that they dont just get a slap on the wrist- they all need serious jail time - and their reputations should be ruined
just like they ruined an 11 years old life.

Please go to the link and read the entire article. It's worth it.

Even before the alleged gang rape of an 11-year-old girl divided Cleveland, tensions were already simmering here. Accusations of racism had been flying over the looming recall election of three black City Council members. Those targeted for removal have expressed concerns that the election could be racially motivated, while their opponents accuse them of mismanagement and squandering tax dollars.
Meanwhile, Houston community activist Quanell X and his entourage rolled into town on Thursday evening to hold a rally that questions the ongoing investigation where 18 black men and boys in Cleveland have been accused of sexually assaulting the 11-year-old Hispanic girl.
And national online forums for the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Brotherhood are buzzing about the rape of the Hispanic girl, who recently turned 12. The sites show photos of those arrested next to pictures of an assault rifle.
On Thursday, a Houston Chronicle reporter saw a group of white men with shaved heads in the back of a pickup driving along a Cleveland street shouting, "Kill all the (expletive N-word)."
Turmoil over the investigation, recall election and racism allegations is making residents anxious.
"There's just a bad mood in Cleveland right now," said County Commissioner Melvin Hunt. "I'd love to see things settle down and get harmonious again."
Cleveland florist Eva Lisco said one of her customers told her that she was going to send her two children out of state until "this is all over."..........................
...............................The assault was so brutal she suffered vaginal injury. Those arrested so far range from a middle schooler to a 27-year-old adult. They include two starters on the high school basketball team, the 21-year-old son of a school board member and several who have criminal records for allegations ranging from drugs to manslaughter.

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One black activist has claimed that the arrests show the African-American community is being targeted in the 8,000-strong town.
Quanell X, leader of the Black Panther movement in Houston - a mere 45 miles away - told ABC News: 'Every adult male that had sex with this child should go to prison, I don't care what the colour is.
'But I do not believe black males are the only ones that had contact with this young child. It appears to me there's only been the selective prosecution of one community, which is African-American.'
He said he planned to host a town meeting tonight, called What's The Real Truth Behind The Rape Allegations?, but the original venue had to be changed because its owners had 'received some death threats'.

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I did not know the child was Hispanic. This town is in for a whole lot of trouble I think.

This utterly disgusts me also.

I do not see how an 11 year old girl could dress or make herself up to look like a 17 year old girl or older. Even at age 17, wouldn't she still be underage?

A defense attorney that finally speaks without sounding like an idiot! :cheering:

That from defense attorney James D. Evans III in an interview with a San Francisco Bay Area talk show host on Thursday. Evans is defending some of the 16 clients already arrested in this case out of Cleveland, Texas.

“So there was no doubt about her age?” KGO talk show host Gil Gross asked.

“Absolutely not. There was no doubt about her age,” Evans replied.

Evans called it a tragedy that the victim was allowed to be out and about amongst the community, but KGO talk show host Gil Gross didn’t appear to be buying this explanation. Later in the interview Gross asked Evans the following:

“Let me ask you this. Is there any excuse for having sex with an 11-year-old girl?”

“None,” Evans replied.

Gross asked Evans how he was going to defend his clients. Evans said he was unable to discuss the defense of his clients at the time.

“Is there one (a defense)?” Gross asked.

“Under the law, it would be very difficult to come up with a defense,” Evans replied.



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The alleged gang rape of an 11-year-old Cleveland girl that has drawn national attention was not just a one-time incident, but rather a protracted assault that happened on at least four dates over a three-month period, recently obtained court documents show.
The first assault allegedly occurred on Sept. 15, and the last on Dec. 1 ­— the same day that Cleveland school authorities learned that videos of the girl being raped not only existed but had gone viral across the district.
Court records previously had only indicated that the girl was assaulted Nov. 28 during the Thanksgiving school break.
The new court records show that four of the defendants were tagged with the more serious felony charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child, which carries a minimum penalty of 25 years in jail and maximum of 99 years.
That's because the suspects characterized in the court documents as ringleaders — Timothy Daray Ellis, 19; Rayford Tyrone Ellis Jr., 19; Jared Len Cruse, 18; and Isaiah Rashad Ross, 21 — participated in the assaults on at least two dates.
Each of the remaining 14 defendants are accused of a single incident of aggravated sexual assault of a child and face a minimum of five years to life in prison.
"You can tell the seriousness of these crimes, because probation is not an option for either charge," said Sarah Wolf, spokeswoman for the Texas District and County Attorneys Association.
Cells phones tested
Cell phones belonging to Timothy Ellis, Cruse and Ross were confiscated and sent to high-tech labs to recover any deleted videos, photos and texts that might be connected to the case, search warrants indicated.
The warrants also authorized authorities to confiscate computers used by these three suspects.
If sexually explicit images of a child are found on any of these electronic devices, these individuals could face additional charges of possession or promotion of child pornography.
'Grooming process'
"Kids can get caught up in this," she said. "Because they want attention, acceptance or lack something else in their lives, but with a pedophile they receive special treatment. Kids are groomed to think this is a good person who cares about them."
The dates on which the assaults occurred included:
Sept. 15: At least six defendants were alleged to have engaged in multiple sex acts with the child on this date. They included the four accused ringleaders, Devo Shaun Green, 20, and Xavier Montreal King, 17.
Oct. 25: At least three defendants were accused of engaging in multiple sex acts with the child on this date. They included Jamarcus Norris Napper, 18, Eric Bernard McGowen, 19, and Cedric De Ray Scott, 27.
Nov. 28: At least eight suspects assaulted the child multiple times this date at the home of one of the defendants and an abandoned trailer. In addition to at least three of the ringleaders, they included Kelvin Rashad King, 21, Marcus Anthony Porchia, 26, and Jared Glen McPherson, 18. Others present included juveniles charged in the case.
Dec. 1: At least five defendants were alleged to have participated in this incident. This included the four ringleaders and Carlos Bernard Ligons, 25.

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Those guys are monsters and I hope they're locked up for many years.

These males raped an 11 yr old child. Forget the color of their skin. They raped an 11 yr old child. That's all that matters. Put a bag over their heads, gloves on their hands and get them into a courtroom in front of a judge and jury. Who cares what color their skin is. They raped an 11 yr old child! Case closed!

There is nothing I can say to add to that, except wholeheartedly agree with you. This is a Travesty!

August 30, 2012
LIBERTY, Texas — Jurors have sentenced Eric McGowen to 99 years and a $10,000 fine for the aggravated sexual assault of an 11-year-old Cleveland, Texas girl. They convicted him Thursday afternoon, just a day after testimony in the trial got under way.
McGowen is still on the run after vanishing during a trial break Wednesday. He had been free on $35,000 bail. Judge Mark Morefield issued a bench warrant for his arrest and increased his bail to $250,000.

McGowen was among 14 adults accused of sexually assaulting the girl during a nearly three-month span in 2010. Six juveniles also were charged.
Eight of the 20 defendants accused in the case have pleaded guilty, including all six juveniles.
The victim, testifying under a pseudonym Wednesday, told jurors about two incidents, one in October 2010 and one the next month, in which McGowen and several other men and boys took turns having sex with her while recording the encounters on video.
The girl briefly broke down in tears as jurors were shown a few minutes of video of an alleged October 2010 sexual assault in a house in Cleveland, a small southeast Texas town where she and the defendants lived.
The girl, who was 11 at the time, said she was brought into what she described as the "baby room" in the house, and that McGowen and others took turns having sex with her. She said the video, which several jurors turned away from, was of her being assaulted by another man charged in the case.
"Did the guys just take turns with you?" prosecutor Joe Warren asked.
"Yes sir," the girl said.
The girl seemed calm for most of the roughly 1 1/2 hours she testified. She mostly gave short answers to questions, often pausing to stare at the floor or ceiling of the Liberty courtroom before responding.
She described another alleged rape that November that started in a different Cleveland home and continued later at a nearby abandoned trailer.
Asked by Warren if more than 20 males might have assaulted her that day, the girl responded, "Probably."
She also told jurors that McGowen used a beer bottle on her during that incident.
Jurors were later shown police photos of used condoms and condom wrappers found inside and outside the house in the November incident.
Poston, questioned the girl for about six minutes, during which he asked whether she twice told police early in the investigation that she never had sex with McGowen. The girl said she didn't remember saying that.
Prosecutors say the girl was assaulted on at least five occasions from mid-September through early December of 2010.
Authorities began investigating that December, after one of the girl's friends told a teacher he watched a cellphone video of her being raped in an abandoned trailer.
Three people who have pleaded guilty — two adults and a juvenile who has since turned 18 — testified Wednesday.
Isaiah Ross, 22, told jurors he saw McGowen sexually assault the girl with a beer bottle. The other adult, Marcus Porchia, 28, and the teen testified they saw others rape the girl but not McGowen.
Ross and Porchia each received 15 year prison terms. The six juveniles who pleaded guilty each received suspended seven-year prison terms.
The case sparked outrage in Cleveland, a community of roughly 9,000 residents 45 miles northeast of Houston. Early in the investigation, some residents suggested the girl was partly responsible because they say she wore makeup, looked older than her age and wasn't properly supervised by her parents, drawing widespread condemnation.
The case also has been complicated by a belief among many in the predominantly black neighborhood where several of the suspects live that the arrests were racially motivated. All of the suspects are black, while the girl is Hispanic.
During opening statements Wednesday, Warren told jurors he would present them with videotaped and written confessions in which McGowen admitted to raping the girl. Warren later showed jurors a video in which McGowen admitted to receiving oral sex from the girl.
"What took place to this girl was nothing better than a pack of animals attacking," Warren said.
On Tuesday, Poston tried but failed to get the confessions thrown out, arguing that police improperly questioned McGowen.
During his opening statement, Poston told jurors that the video evidence in the case doesn't show McGowen having sex with the girl.
"The truth in this case is not always what it seems," he said.
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Fugitive Who Raped Cleveland, Texas Girl Captured And Arrested
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HOUSTON (FOX 26) -
Four defendants have pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in Cleveland, Texas.

Friday, Rayford Ellis reached a plea deal with prosecutors.

Wednesday, the following defendants reached plea deals:

-- Kelvin Rashad King, 23
-- Jared Glenn McPherson, 20
-- Timothy Daray Ellis, 20

All four will be sentenced on Sept. 21.

Jamarcus Napper and Cedric Deray Scott rejected plea deals. Napper is expected to be in court in October and Scott is expected to be in court on Nov. 26.

Twenty men have been charged in the case of a then 11-year-old girl who was repeatedly sexually assaulted over four months in 2010.

Eric McGowen, one of the defendants, walked out of his trial as it was still going on just a week before Friday's plea deals. He was convicted and sentenced to 99 years in prison. He remains on the run.
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LIBERTY, Texas -- Four men who pleaded guilty in the repeated sexual assault of an 11-year-old Texas girl were each sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison, terms they agreed to in deals with prosecutors.

Their sentencing hearings came after another man charged in the 2010 case chose to go to trial and was convicted and sentenced last month to 99 years in prison. Legal experts said his harsh punishment probably prompted the four sentenced Friday to plead guilty and will likely mean the seven defendants with cases still pending will seek their own plea deals.

Sentenced Friday were: Timothy Ellis, 20; his cousin, Rayford Ellis Jr., 21; Kelvin King, 23; and Jared McPherson, 20. All had pleaded guilty earlier this month to aggravated sexual assault of a child, and each must register as a sex offender once released from prison.

Rayford Ellis also pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a 2008 case, while King pleaded guilty to another aggravated sexual assault charge in a 2009 case involving an attack on a different girl. Each received 15 years for those charges and will serve those sentences at the same time as the ones for assaulting the 11-year-old.

Each defendant was allowed to hug family members before being taken away by authorities. All except for Rayford Ellis had been free on bail. Relatives of the defendants declined to comment after the hearings.

Defense attorneys and prosecutors also declined to comment, citing a gag order in the case.

During his sentencing hearing, King told the judge he was unhappy with his attorney, Jerry Andress, and his plea deal.

"I feel like, well, my lawyer really didn't talk about the case," King said.

Afterward, King's father, Kevin King, and Andress argued outside the courtroom about the sentence. Both men declined to comment to reporters.

Prosecutors say the girl, now 13, was sexually assaulted on at least five occasions by 20 men and boys in the Southeast Texas town of Cleveland, about 45 miles northeast of Houston. The girl was 11 years old during the assaults from mid-September through early December 2010. Police began investigating that December after a classmate of the girl's told a teacher he had seen cellphone video of men having sex with her.

All six juveniles and six of the 14 adults charged, including those sentenced Friday, pleaded guilty. The only defendant to opt for a trial, Eric McGowen, was convicted and sentenced last month to 99 years in prison, but he wasn't in court to face his punishment. McGowen, who had been free on bail, skipped out during a break on the first day of testimony, which included the girl's tearful recounting of the assaults and McGowen's role in them. He was arrested two weeks later in Houston.

The four men sentenced Friday accepted their plea deals after McGowen was tried and convicted.

Legal experts said Friday the seven adult defendants who still have cases pending are probably going to avoid trial after seeing what happened with McGowen.

"Unless one of the remaining co-defendants has something brand new, we are not going to see any more trials from this point forward," said Grant Scheiner, a Houston criminal defense attorney not involved in the case.

Joel Androphy, another Houston attorney not connected to the case, said a 99-year prison sentence for one defendant would definitely scare his co-defendants into pleading guilty. But Androphy said he believes at least one of the remaining defendants will probably decide to take his chances at trial.

"Trials are a roll of the dice. You have to weigh it all and decide how to handle it," the attorney said.
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November 12, 2012
Jared Len Cruse has been sentenced to life in prison after he was found guilty Wednesday morning by a Liberty County jury of participating in the gang rape of an 11-year-old Cleveland girl.
Prosecutors on Tuesday described Cruse as one of a "pack of dogs" who gang-raped the girl, while the defense likened her to a "spider" who lured men into her web.
Testimony in this case was over in a single day after Cruse, now 20, declined to testify and his attorney, Steve Taylor, rested without calling any witnesses Tuesday.
Cruse is the second of 20 male defendants to be tried for allegedly sexually assaulting the girl over the course of four months in 2010 in Cleveland. The first, Eric McGowen, was convicted and received a sentence of 99 years in prison. Seven juveniles have received probation and six adults received 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in exchange for plea deals.
Cruse already is serving an eight-year sentence on convictions for aggravated robbery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Taylor told jurors in his closing remarks, "She told you she was a willing participant. But they'll tell you the law doesn't care ... off with their heads!"
But he questioned whether the law can be that absolute.
"People don't come with signs telling their age," Taylor said. "How does a young man know? You can't cut off their legs and count the rings like a tree."
Prosecutors countered that the law provides no excuse for sex with children. Otherwise, they argued, adults can take advantage of a child's naïveté and innocence.
Because the sexual assault was videotaped by the participants, the only defense Cruse can raise is say to say it's her fault, prosecutor Joe Warren said.
"Look at how proud he is on that video as his buddies say 'beat that ho,'" Warren said.
Warren said rarely in his criminal trial work can he present an actual video of a crime being committed.
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March 4, 2013
Walter Jamal Harrison, one of last four remaining defendants in what has become known as the Cleveland gang rape case, pleaded guilty Monday morning, March 4, in the Liberty County courtroom of 75th District Judge Mark Morefield.
In exchange for his plea of indecency with a child by contact, Harrison was sentenced to seven years deferred adjudication, which is unlike the other adult defendants in the case who have been sentenced before him. His sentence is more aligned with the juveniles, all of whom have been sentenced. Other adult defendants who accepted plea agreements were sentenced to 15 years in prison.
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Apr 25, 2013.

One of 20 men originally charged in what has become known as the Cleveland gang rape case is now facing more legal troubles.
Just weeks after receiving seven years deferred adjudication for a reduced charge of Indecency With a Child, Xavier Montreal King, 19, is now accused of participating in a drive-by shooting in San Jacinto County on April 18.
According to the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office, King and three other young men were arrested a short distance from a home on Jackson Road off of SH 156 where the shooting incident took place. The occupants of the house, who were uninjured, were able to provide law enforcement with a description of the suspects and their vehicle.
San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Deputy White pulled over the suspects’ vehicle shortly afterward. Inside the vehicle, White found King, who was driving, and three passengers.
The four men have been charged with Deadly Conduct, a third degree felony, and could be looking at an additional charge of Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity, which could bump up the charge to a second degree felony.
Sources close to the case in Liberty County say that law enforcement is investigating reports that the drive-by shooting is gang-related. If that is proven, the charge could be enhanced to a first degree felony.
The vehicle King was driving, which reportedly belonged to a close family member, has been seized for evidence processing.
The Cleveland gang rape case stems from a series of sexual assaults allegedly committed by 20 males -- 14 adults and six juveniles -- against an 11-year-old girl in the fall of 2010. The assaults were discovered by Cleveland students who saw videos some of the men took during the sex acts and reported it to school authorities.

Aware of King’s most recent arrest, Liberty County prosecutors are now “looking at all options on the person who allegedly committed a crime in another county,” said Liberty County Assistant District Attorney Joe Warren by phone Wednesday night.
King is not the only defendant to make a plea agreement in the Cleveland gang rape case in recent weeks. Originally charged with Sexual Assault of a Child, King and two others — Devo Shawn Green and Walter Jamal Harrison — each pleaded guilty to Indecency With a Child in exchange for seven years deferred adjudication and the requirement to register as a sex offender for a period of 10 years beyond the deferred adjudication sentence.
Carlos Ligons is the last of the original 20 suspects remaining in the case; however, prosecutors, during previous court proceedings, have mentioned that a 21st suspect could still be charged.
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I cannot find a thing on the last remaining person (Carlos Bernard Ligons) to go to trial or accept a plea, the below is all I can find.

Dear Liberty Dispatch
I see your website has two recent stories about an eleven year old girl being raped by many young men. One suggests she was used as bait by the authorities we trust to protect her or at least left unprotected. The other story is about a gag order to keep such things under wraps. I believe if you can study the court records in Judge Bobby Rader’s JP court you will find a gag order made for a different reason. (Note: Judge Bobby Rader is also a municipal court judge for the City of Liberty.):

It seems that of the many young men arrested and given very high bail amounts, one was given a $100,000.00 PR (Personal Recognizance), bond by Judge Rader. It seemed strange to me as he was not even a juvenile and I would think an adult to be more liable for what he does than a juvenile. His name is Carlos Bernard Ligons. It seems that Mr. Ligons' mother works for the jail (CEC CORP) and is politically connected with the Democrat Party. Judge Rader is a reputed (RINO) Republican and may be trying to keep his supporters and Democrat friends (Like Mike Little) happy.

Getting past the gag order may be difficult, but I think it needs to be investigated and made public. I hope there is a good explanation for a PR bond being approved for one suspect and $100,000.00 bonds for the rest, but it looks like the gag order is there to cover up some bias. There is no excuse for being with an eleven year old and I don't see how any single one of the young men involved deserve special treatment apart from the rest.

With all the media coverage, I just hope that the eleven year old can now get the protection and help she deserves.
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