At least 18 men and boys have been charged in connection with the gang rape of an 11-year-old girl, it emerged today.
The suspects, aged between 14 and 27, are accused of taking part in the rape last Thanksgiving in an abandoned mobile home in Cleveland, Texas.
Investigators confiscated mobile phones from some of the suspects, after it emerged videos of the alleged incident were circulated around schools, court documents showed.
A friend of the alleged victim alerted school officials December 1 after recognising her friend engaged in sexual acts in a video.
It is alleged that the victim was invited to join one of the suspects in a mobile home, before other men were invited in, including a relative of the man who owned the mobile home.
The sixth-grade victim has since been withdrawn from school.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.
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.’
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 arrested next.
Police have stressed that the investigation is ongoing and have not ruled out further breakthroughs and more arrests before the case comes to trial.
Some of those charged are from local Cleveland high school, while all 18 are understood to be from the town.
