Defense Lawyer: Rape Charge Against Illegal Alien Teens in Rockville Will Be Dropped
by
Wcbm
Maryland prosecutors will drop rape and sex offense charges against one of two immigrant teens accused of attacking a 14-year-old classmate in a school bathroom stall, according to the suspect’s attorney in the case that horrified local parents, attracted international attention and intensified debate about illegal crossings into the U.S.
Attorneys for the second suspect said they had not been told of the status of the rape case against their client who is due in court Friday morning for a hearing.
The defense lawyers for both defendants have said the sex acts were consensual and that text messages and school surveillance videos did not substantiate the girl’s claims she had been pushed from a hallway into a bathroom at Rockville High School on March 16 where the suspects took turns assaulting her in a stall as she tried to break free.
Prosecutors declined to comment Thursday on whether they were dropping charges in the case that rocked the suburban community near Washington, D.C. But they had signaled in an early court proceeding that they were having challenges corroborating events the girl described to Montgomery County Police detectives and that led to the arrests of Henry Sanchez Milian, 18, and Jose Montano, 17.
Judge drops rape charges against 17-year-old in Rockville High case
ROCKVILLE, Md. – Rape charges filed against a 17-year-old Rockville High School student accused of raping a fellow 14-year-old student in a school bathroom have been dropped. Attorneys for Jose Montano asked a judge at a Friday morning hearing that the first-degree rape and first-degree sexual offenses charges against their client be dropped, and the judge granted that request.
Montano is being released immediately. Maryland state prosecutors say after reviewing video and speaking to witnesses, the facts do not support the rape charge. Instead, the state will now pursue child pornography charges against the suspect in juvenile court.
