Court Appearance Set for Suspects in SE Texas Rape Case

LIBERTY, Texas (AP) _ More than a dozen men accused of taking part in a series of sexual assaults on an 11-year-old girl are expected in court in a case that has divided and horrified their small southeast Texas town.

The 14 men facing charges are scheduled to be in a state district courtroom in Liberty on Wednesday for status updates. Five juvenile boys also have been charged.

Prosecutors say the girl was assaulted on at least five occasions from mid-September to early December in Cleveland, a small town about 45 miles northeast of Houston.

Authorities began investigating after the girl’s friend told a teacher he’d seen a lurid cell phone video that showed her being raped inside an abandoned trailer. Prosecutors say the video had been passed around among the girl’s classmates.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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