May 15, 2008 8:46 pm US/Pacific
6-8 Teens Wanted In Attack On 3 Teen Girls
Cops Say Teens Assaulted 3 Girls In Mason Park
CHATSWORTH
One teen was questioned Thursday while six to eight others were at large in connection with three teenage girls found unconscious in a Chatsworth park.
The girls may have been drugged and at least one may have been sexually assaulted, Los Angeles police spokeswoman Kate Lopez said.
At Mason Park at Mason Avenue and Devonshire Street, detectives responded to a report that "three females were possibly drugged and attacked."
Police reportedly found backpacks, candy and drink containers at the scene, but its not known whether drugs or alcohol caused the girls to pass out.
"There was a bag of candy found," said Captain Steven Ruiz. "It's unknown at this time whether or not it was laced. There's also several empty bottles of different types of soda containers -- Subway cup, bottles of empty soda -- so we don't know what involvement that may have at this point so we're still actively investigating it."
He said, based on the information provided by witnesses, "we believe that a possible sexual assault occurred to at least one of the victims."
It was unclear whether the other girls had been assaulted.
All three were taken to a hospital to be examined. All three have since been released.
Authorities were seeking about a half-dozen more teenagers believed to be part of the initial group.
Friday, some of the eyewitnesses said the girls were drinking large quantities of vodka. Police would only say they recovered "several items of evidence" and would not confirm the report of "heavy drinking."
They also said the girls "knew" their attackers and that they had snuck out of school to meet up with them.
They also said no arrests have been made but that they had questioned many students and were nearing a list of possible suspects.
Ruiz said a "large" group of students was being interviewed.
Ruiz described the female students Friday as being "cooperative." Adding, "Keep in mind they were in an unconscious state so their memories are pretty foggy."
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