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Teens Recount Horrifying Details Of Beach Rapes

Suspects Face 300 Year Sentences If Convicted

POSTED: 6:38 pm PST January 31, 2007
UPDATED: 11:11 am PST February 1, 2007

More details surfaced in the preliminary hearing against three men accused of robbing and raping two University of San Diego students.


Images: Women Raped in Mission Beach

In court on Wednesday, two teenaagers took the stand who were outside the Mission Beach apartment the night the women were attacked. They agreed to testify about what they heard and saw that night in exchange for guilty pleas to lesser offenses in juvenile court.

Judge Kerry Wells ordered the media to identify the juvenile witnesses only by initials, A.S. and D.R.E.

A.S. told the court on Wednesday that he drove two of the defendants, Duante Smith, 19 and Antonio Washington, 18, to the crime scene. Both A.S. and D.R.E. testified that Smith and Washington told them about raping two white girls and that the defendants had an X-Box, games and DVD's taken from the apartment.

While he was on the stand, A.S. said that the other defendant in the case, Willie Watkins, 31, also said he raped the two USD students. Watkins said they had difficulty raping one of the girls because she was a virgin, A.S. testified.

NBC 7/39 asked legal expert and defense attorney Gretchen Von Helms if the juveniles' agreement with the prosecutor may have colored what they said on the stand.

"So he's made them a deal, if you will: 'You get to stay in juvenile court, where the sentences are for rehabilitation and are much more lenient than in adult court, if you come in and tell me what happened,' " said Von Helms. " Now the defense attorneys will say, 'Look, basically that testimony has been bought and paid for. These kids will say whatever to be able to stay in juvenile court.' And so the jury gets to sort that out at the end."

The defendants were bound over for trial on charges that include forcible rape, sexual assault and kidnapping for robbery. Each defendant could get up to 300 years to life in prison if convicted.

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