TRENTON, N.J. — Twenty-seven people were arrested Thursday on outstanding warrants at a New Jersey apartment complex where officials say a 7-year-old girl was gang raped.
Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer said the sweep of Rowan Towers was planned before the girl’s attack. He said police hope the arrests will lead to tips that help them find those who assaulted the girl, otherwise the arrests were unrelated to the case.
“This is only the beginning,” Palmer said. “We’re not going to rest until that area is cleaned up so that decent people can live without the threat of fear and violence.”
Police say the child’s 15-year-old stepsister sold her to have sex with as many as seven men and boys at a party Sunday in a vacant apartment. The stepsister was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault, promoting prostitution and other crimes.
The teen’s name was not released because of her age, but the county prosecutor plans to ask the court to try her as an adult.
Police believe as many as a dozen people were at the party and say everyone in the apartment when the rape occurred could be legally culpable. There were security cameras at the complex and police said they were reviewing all available building surveillance videos.