Case Dismissed Against 3 Charged In Detroit Gang Rape

DETROIT (WWJ) - The case against three men accused in a gang rape has been dismissed.

The trio — 22-year-old Chico Bruce, 18-year-old Antoine Orr, and 17-year-old Jordan Reese — were charged in the sexual assault of a woman and robbery of a man on Detroit's west side last month.

The three were in court Tuesday morning for a scheduled preliminary hearing, but the judge dismissed the case, Wayne County Prosecutor Spokeswoman Maria Miller said, because the complainants did not show up.

There are unconfirmed reports that the victims decided not to prosecute the men.

WWJ Legal Analyst Charlie Langton says that when the victim refuses to testify, a case must be dropped.

"It's a nightmare for any prosecutor to not have a victim show up — especially in a sexual assault case and a robbery, you need the victim," Langton said. "And if the prosecutor doesn't have the victim, for whatever reason, the case has to be thrown out. A judge would not allow it go to forward."

Bruce, Orr and Reese had been charged with 19 counts, including 13 counts of criminal sexual conduct.

July 16 in the area of West McNichols and Birwood Street, just blocks away from Marygrove College.

According to police, a 22-year-old man and his 21-year-old girlfriend were walking along W. McNichols, near Marygrove College, the night of July 16 when they were approached by a group of six men. The men reportedly forced the couple behind a business where they were robbed and stripped of their clothes. Members of the group took then turns sexually assaulting the woman, police said; and when the attack was over, the nude victims ran to a liquor store for help.

Police had said investigators were seeking three additional suspects in the case.