Case at Maryland high school gained national attention when White House spokesman Sean Spicer spoke about it.
ROCKVILLE, Md. — Prosecutors said Friday they are dropping charges against two Hispanic teens accused of raping a 14-year-old girl in a Maryland high school bathroom. The case caught the attention of the White House.
In March, Henry E. Sanchez-Milian, 18, and Jose O. Montano, 17, were charged with raping a 14-year-old female student in a bathroom at Rockville High School, in the Washington suburbs.
U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Sanchez-Milian was found in Texas in August by a border patrol agent who determined he entered the U. S. from Mexico illegally. The agency said he was issued a notice to appear before an immigration judge.
When asked about the case in March, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said it showed why President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration was so crucial.
► Related: White House links teen rape case to failed immigration policies
“Part of the reason that the president has made illegal immigration and crackdown such a big deal is because of tragedies like this, ” Spicer said. “Immigration takes its toll on our people if it is not done legally.”
On Friday, Montgomery County (Md.) State’s Attorney John McCarthy said the charges were being dropped after a “painstaking investigation” of the girl’s claim the two teens took turns raping her.
He said “the original charges cannot be sustained and prosecution is untenable” as the investigation revealed a “lack of corroboration and substantial inconsistencies” after interviewing the girl multiple times.
Lawyers for the teens pointed to explicit text messages sent by the girl, and a graphic video she sent to Montano, who then shared it with Sanchez-Milian. Their attorneys said she consented to the sex acts in the bathroom.
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Although the rape charges were dropped, the teens now face child pornography charges.
McCarthy said the 18-year-old will be charged with possession of child pornography, which carries a potential sentence of up to five years.
He declined to say what charges would be brought against the 17-year-old, because that case has now been transferred to juvenile court. But the younger teen’s lawyers said the boy would face charges on counts of distributing and possessing child pornography, and that the charges carry a possible sentence of 10 years or more.
Police had initially charged the 17-year-old as an adult because of the seriousness of the rape charges.
Defense lawyer Maria Mena called it “egregious” that Montano, her client, was being charged, while the 14-year-old girl who created the video and sent it to him voluntarily is not being charged.
The 17-year-old came to the U. S. from El Salvador to live with relatives who are U. S. citizens after his adoptive grandmother died in El Salvador, leaving him alone there, his lawyers said. Mena said Friday that immigration proceedings have been initiated against him but they will fight to keep him in the country.
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Deportation proceedings are still pending against Sanchez-Milian, who is from Guatemala.
Shortly after their arrest, a judge ordered them held pending hearings, saying they were dangerous and flight risks because they had only been in the U. S. for a couple of months.
On Friday, deputy White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked whether the White House jumped to conclusions about the case and whether she wanted to retract anything the White House has said so far.
“I think we’re always looking to protect the American people. Sean was speaking about what he knew at the time, ” adding, “I’m not going to retract anything without further information.”
Contributing: Debra Alfarone, WUSA-TV, Washington; John Bacon, USA TODAY; The Associated Press. Follow WUSA-TV on Twitter: @wusa9
