Lawyer for one of 20 men accused in horrific gang-rape claims 11-year-old VICTIM was a 'spider' who lured men into her web



The defense attorney for one of 20 men accused in a gang-rape scandal likened the victim, an 11-year-old Texas girl, to a 'spider' who lured men into her web during the one and only day of testimony on Tuesday.



Attorney Steve Taylor said the accused, 20-year-old Jared Len Cruse, is innocent of any wrongdoing in the case because he was baited by the girl, whose name has not been released because she is a minor.

'Like the spider and the fly. Wasn't she saying, "Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly?'" Taylor asked former Cleveland Police Department Sgt. Chad Langdon, who was the lead investigator on the case, the Houston Chronicle reported.



Accused: 20-year-old Jared Len Cruse of Cleveland, Texas is accused of gang-raping an 11-year-old girl

Langdon replied: 'I wouldn't call her a spider. I'd say she was just an 11-year-old girl.'

Refusing to drop his argument, Taylor snapped back, 'I hope nothing like this ever happens to your two teenage sons.'

Cruse was identified as a suspect in the case after graphic sex tapes of some of the assaults surfaced at Cleveland High School. He is shown having oral sex and vaginal sex with the victim on the tapes.

Taylor says the victim lied about her age, claiming that she was 17.

Police say the girl was raped repeatedly between September 15, 2010 and December 3 of that year by a gang of 20 boys aged between 14 and 27.

The victim has admitted to being a a consenting participant in the encounters and has acknowledged that she never made an outcry until she was questioned by authorities once the sex tapes surfaced.

Prosecutors argue, however, that an 11-year-old's consent is meaningless because she is not emotionally mature enough to understand what she is doing.



Hideaway: Police say the girl was raped by 20 men in this abandoned cabin in Cleveland, Texas

When the case surfaced two years ago, the father of the girl said he discovered the abuse in November 2010 after being sent sexually explicit pictures of his daughter on his cell phone.

Speaking to the New York Times, the victim's father said he had been worried about his daughter for 'months', as she had been climbing out of her bedroom window at night, coming home as late as 12 p.m.

One night, she returned home at 3 a.m. shaking and crying. The girl told her parents she had been visiting 'friends.'

He said: 'Her mind is a child’s mind. That’s what makes me so angry.

'She will never recover from this.'

He told the paper that although she was tall for her age, the girl remained a child; her bed piled high with stuffed animals.

Cruse, who is already serving an eight-year sentence on convictions for aggravated robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, is the second of 20 male defendants to be tried for allegedly sexually assaulting the girl, according to the Houston Chronicle.



The first, Eric McGowen, was convicted sentenced to 99 years in prison. Seven juveniles have received probation and six adults received 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in exchange for plea deals.

On trial: This is where police say the girl was raped on at least six separate occasions as people videotaped the encounters

Like Cruse, several of the suspects have serious criminal records while others have children of their own, including one nicknamed 'Mookey', who was ordered to pay child support for five children within the past year.

Among those accused are two sets of siblings, Xavier Montreal King and his older brother Kelvin.

Xavier, nicknamed 'Youngmoney', has just become a father with his 15-year-old partner Markeya Mallet.

Speaking to the Houston Chronicle, Miss Mallet said she felt 'overwhelmed' by the thought of her 'baby daddy' going to prison.

She said: 'It's all a mystery. He tells people he went for a ride but didn't participate.'

Two months prior to the alleged rape, Xavier posted on his Facebook page how he wanted to change his life.

He wrote: 'I'm 17 years old...it's time that I start acting like it...first thang first...I need a J.O.B. I'm tired of these streets..it aint none out there for me but trouble.'

According to court documents, his brother Kelvin was charged with sexual assault of a girl under 17-years-old and is also accused of robbing his sister's car at gunpoint.

The second set of siblings are Rayford Tyrone Ellis Jr. and Timothy Daray Ellis.

Timothy Daray Ellis (right) and his cousin Rayford Tyrone Ellis (left) are charged with 'continuous' sexual assault of the girl. Rayford is the father of five children

They are among four defendants charged with 'continuous' sexual assault of the girl on more than one occasion.

According to Texas Attorney General's child support spokesman Janece Rolfe, Rayford Ellis, aka 'Mookie', is a father of five children who has a pending manslaughter charge from 2008.

His cousin Timothy has no prior criminal record.

Police became aware of the alleged rape after the girl told a school district police chief about the incident on December 3, 2010.

One school employee spoke with several students: 'Who had seen the cell phone videos or heard of the incident,' the affidavit said.

The victim was then interviewed at a child advocacy center.

According to documents, one of the suspects called her, 'and asked if she wanted to ride around,' the warrant said. Three of the suspects then picked her up and took her to one residence where a fourth suspect lived.

A fourth suspect told the young girl to disrobe, she said, adding that she would be 'beaten up if she did not comply,' an affidavit recorded.

The girl was then said to have engaged in sexual acts in the bedroom and bathroom of the house.

While in the bathroom, the girl said she heard one suspect calling and inviting other people to have sex with her.

Xavier King (right) and his brother Kelvin (left) were accused of being involved in the alleged rape

After she left the bathroom, she saw four men she did not know, the affidavit said.

The party was disturbed, however, when the aunt of one of the suspects returned home.

The alleged victim and the men then 'left the residence in haste through the rear window of the house,' the affidavit said.

The group then moved to an abandoned trailer where the sexual acts continued.

The alleged victim 'stated that digital still images and digital video images of the sex acts were recorded by one or more individuals using cellular telephones.'

The incident raised racial tensions in the 8,000-strong community of Celveland, Texas, as the suspects are all black and the girl is of Mexican descent.

Latino community leaders defended the young girl, saying people who have questioned her parental supervision and dress are re-victimizing her.

The comments were in response to black activist Quanell X who earlier this month said he was concerned that only young black men had been arrested.