NEW YORK — Four teens who forced a father to leave his daughter so they could take turns raping her at a park have been arrested, New York police say — but a fifth suspect is still at large.
The 18-year-old daughter was with her father at the Osborn Playground in Brooklyn around 9 p.m. Thursday when they were approached by five males, the New York Police Department said.
One of the men pulled a gun on the father and daughter and demanded the father leave the area, police said.
Each of the five assailants then raped the teenager, authorities said.
The father told CNN affiliate WABC he was near the handball court with his daughter having a drink when the men came.
“One of them put a gun in my face, telling me to run, and all of them had their way with her,” the father told WABC.
He said he didn’t have a cell phone with him and went to a store, begging for help — but said the store wouldn’t call police.
By the time the father returned to the park with two police officers, the attackers were gone, police said.
The teen victim told WABC she screamed for help, but no one stopped.
“I didn’t know what to do,” she said. “I was in a panic mode.”
The victim suffered cuts to her arms, neck and knees during the assault, police spokeswoman Arlene Muniz said. The teen was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was treated and released.
On Sunday night, authorities said four suspects — ages 14, 15, 15 and 17 — were in custody, and charges were pending. Two of the teens turned themselves in, and the other two were apprehended, New York police said.
Authorities released surveillance video that they say shows the five attackers at a local store before the incident.
“I am disgusted and deeply saddened by the horrific attack that took place in Brownsville yesterday evening,” New York Mayor Bill De Blasio said.
“Every New Yorker in every neighborhood deserves to feel safe and protected, and we will not stop until the perpetrators of this disturbing attack are held accountable for their actions. This administration has zero tolerance for sexual attacks, and we will work to ensure a crime of this nature never happens again.”
