UNNAMED GIRL - Teenager (11/14) - / Charged: Torreano Batton; 2 unnamed 16 yo; 3 unnamed 17 yo - Winter Springs, FL

Six teens arrested in rape of Winter Springs HS student


Six teens -- ranging in age from 16 to 18 -- now face charges in the sex attack on a Winter Springs High School student last week.

By Jeff Weiner,  Orlando Sentinel

Six teenagers — ranging in age from 16 to 18 — charged in sex attack on fellow student

Six teens — ranging in age from 16 to 18 — now face charges in the sex attack on a Winter Springs High School student last week, the city's Police Department said Wednesday.

"Prior to making these arrests, the Winter Springs Police Department painstakingly processed relevant facts, evidence and conducted interviews with several people to determine that solid and proper charges were filed against those allegedly responsible for this crime," the agency said.


 
Torreano Batton, 18, is the only adult among six teens arrested in the sex attack on a Winter Springs High School student last week. (Winter Springs PD)


Police identified all six suspects, including 18-year-old Torreano Batton of Sanford, in a press release. They face charges of sexual battery and false imprisonment.

The Orlando Sentinel is not identifying the other five suspects, who are juveniles. A spokeswoman for the 18th Circuit State Attorney's Office said the agency had not yet decided whether to charge the underage suspects as adults.


According to Winter Springs Police Chief Kevin Brunelle, the victim told investigators she was attacked by a group of five to seven boys and raped after school Thursday in the woods northeast of State Road 434 and Tuscawilla Road.

The area is just outside the edge of the school's campus, and Brunelle said the young people may have been using the woods as a cut-through. The chief said police have gathered "ample proof" the victim made clear to the suspects that she did not want to participate in the sexual activity.

"No matter what led them to be in the woods… 'no' means no," Brunelle said.

Brunelle said the suspects are all students at Winter Springs High School. Seminole County Schools spokesman Michael Lawrence would not confirm that, citing confidentiality.

"School officials have been notified by the Winter Springs Police Department of the arrest of several young men," he said in a statement. "We cannot be specific as to any action taken by the school due to student confidentiality."

Lawrence added: "Additionally, the school system has appropriate programs in place to meet the needs of any affected students."
Five of the six young people arrested, including Batton, have Sanford addresses; only one, a 16-year-old, lives in Winter Springs, police said.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show Batton has an arrest history dating back at least to 2010.

In March of that year, when he was 13 years old, Batton was arrested on charges of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child and fondling, FDLE records show. Because Batton was a juvenile then, details of that offense were not available.

FDLE records indicate that Batton later pleaded no contest to a molestation charge and was sentenced to probation. He was not convicted.

Earlier this year, before he turned 18, Batton was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery on a person 65 or older, the FDLE records show. Because juvenile records are not public, details were not available.

Of the five juvenile suspects, three are 17 years old and two are 16. FDLE records showed only minor prior offenses, or none at all, for the juveniles, who were taken to the Seminole County Juvenile Assessment Center.

Police worked with prosecutors and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to build their case, including a meeting with the State Attorney's Office Friday morning in the lead-up to the arrests, Brunelle said.

This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.


http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-winter-springs-high-gang-rape-arrests-20141119-story.html

They should all be charged as adults and NAMED.