5 charged with gang-raping 7-year-old girl in N.J.

TRENTON - Two adults and three juveniles have been charged with gang-raping a 7-year-old girl who was sold by her 15-year-old stepsister during a party at a crime-ridden apartment building, police said yesterday.

Details on the arrests were announced at news conference Saturday at police headquarters in Trenton, the state's capital city.

The arrested people include a 20-year-old man who already had been charged Friday with having sex with the 15-year-old. The other four are a 19-year-old Trenton man and three boys ages 13, 14 and 17. Each was charged with aggravated sexual assault and child endangerment.

Police said further arrests may be made.

Authorities say the 7-year-old was offered for sale by her stepsister March 28. They say the teen went to a party with some men on the 13th floor of the Rowan Towers apartment building and the younger girl tagged along because she worried about her stepsister's safety.

Police say the 15-year-old sold sex to men, then took money to let them touch the younger girl. They say touching turned to forcible sex as at least seven men raped the 7-year-old.

Before the arrest announcements, the 15-year-old had been charged with promoting prostitution, aggravated sexual assault and other crimes; police have not released her name, and she remained in juvenile detention yesterday night.

Mayor Doug Palmer said he met with the victim's relatives at his office on Thursday to offer help and make sure they were able to move out of the neighborhood over safety concerns.

Palmer met with the parents, the 7-year-old girl and her two younger siblings. The woman is the mother of the 7-year-old girl, and the man she lives with is the father of the 15-year-old. The man and woman also have two toddlers together.