"Warrants: Gang rape lasted 14 hours at 3 houses"
Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 11:24 amhttp://www.norwalkadvocate .com/news/local/scn-sa-nor.rape2dec22,0,6782482.story?coll=nor-news-local-headlines
Warrants: Gang rape lasted 14 hours at 3 houses
By Zach Lowe
Staff Writer
December 22, 2007
STAMFORD - Six men took turns having sex with a 24-year-old New Canaan woman during a gang rape that lasted 14 hours in three different houses in Stamford and Norwalk, according to two arrest warrant affidavits unsealed Thursday.
Four suspects have been charged with first-degree sexual assault, and police were searching for two others.
Lawyers and relatives of some of the four suspects said they are all innocent and that any sex was consensual.
A doctor who examined the woman at Norwalk Hospital on July 31, the day the incident ended, found bruises on her neck and parts of her arms, where she had been held down, an affidavit says.
The doctor also found injuries that are typical in rape cases. The victim is not sure whether any of her attackers wore condoms.
"It was obvious something happened," the doctor told police, according to the affidavit.
The victim picked at least three suspects out of a photo lineup, records show.
The affidavit gives the following account:
The attack started sometime at about 3 p.m. July 30, when a friend of the victim's, whom she knew as J.B., called and asked whether she wanted to smoke marijuana.
The victim agreed as long as J.B., later identified as Catragne Moresca, 27, of 50 Elmcroft Road, Stamford, did not bring cocaine; the victim had just completed a stint in a drug rehabilitation facility.
The victim's record and possible drug use during the alleged assault are likely to be central issues in the case, attorneys said.
"I question the motive of anyone who is supposed to see her probation officer hours after ingesting crack cocaine, marijuana and Hennessy over a 15-hour time span," said Michael Colombo, the attorney for one suspect, 20-year-old Carl Colas of 42 Merrell Ave., Apt. B43, Stamford.
Moresca arrived at the victim's New Canaan home with a cousin she knew only as "Cliff," the affidavit continues.
They picked up another friend, identified as "Jay," and stopped at Moresca's home on Elmcroft Road.
After the group smoked crack and drank liquor in Moresca's bedroom, the man the victim knew as Cliff tried to undo the victim's bra and her belt, she told police.
Cliff, later identified as Wilkens Placide, 24, of 13 Center Ave., Norwalk, then allegedly pinned the victim, stripped her and forced her to have sex over her protests, she told police.
The man she knew as Jay then came into the room and raped her. About 15 minutes later, Moresca entered and forced her to have sex.
The victim ran her fingernails across Moresca's back, hoping to preserve bits of his skin underneath as evidence, the affidavit states.
Moresca's attorney, Auden Grogins, did not return calls seeking comment.
The men then left her alone in the bedroom for about half an hour, locking the door from the outside. She told police she didn't scream for help because she was afraid they would hurt her.
She couldn't call police because she had forgotten her cell phone, the affidavit states.
The men returned, and the victim asked them to take her home.
Instead, at about 9 p.m., they drove her to a house on Stillwater Avenue. Inside, two more men whom she did not know ordered her to have sex with them.
She overheard the other suspects referring to the men as Star and Segall, the affidavit states.
Segall, later identified as Colas, and Star allegedly took turns raping the victim.
A sixth man, who is not identified by any name, entered the room and raped her minutes later, the affidavit states.
Police later found a paper with a phone number written on it next to the name Star in the victim's pocket. The victim told police she did not write the phone number and that Star must have slipped the note into her pocket, according to the affidavit.
Colombo said his client claims the victim asked for the suspect's phone number because she wanted to meet up again.
"The truth will come out in this case," he said.
The men took her to a third location in Norwalk and allegedly had sex with her for several more hours.
They dropped the woman off at her family's home in New Canaan at about 5 a.m. July 31.
"You know what will happen if you call the cops," Moresca reportedly told her.
She told her sister and her probation officer about the alleged assault, and they urged her to seek treatment at the hospital.
She picked Colas, Moresca and Placide out of police photo lineups in August, the affidavit states.
Police drove the victim around Stamford and Norwalk and had her point to the houses where the assaults occurred. She picked out homes where Moresca and Placide live.
Police arrested Moresca and Placide on rape and first-degree kidnapping charges in August. Both are being held on $750,000 bond.
Police arrested Colas in September and charged him with first-degree sexual assault. He is being held on $350,000 bond.
Police also have charged Cliff Cenelien, 20, of Stamford, with first-degree sexual assault. Cenelien was not mentioned by name in the affidavits unsealed Thursday.
All four suspects are due to appear Jan. 25 at state Superior Court in Stamford.
Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
Warrants: Gang rape lasted 14 hours at 3 houses
By Zach Lowe
Staff Writer
December 22, 2007
STAMFORD - Six men took turns having sex with a 24-year-old New Canaan woman during a gang rape that lasted 14 hours in three different houses in Stamford and Norwalk, according to two arrest warrant affidavits unsealed Thursday.
Four suspects have been charged with first-degree sexual assault, and police were searching for two others.
Lawyers and relatives of some of the four suspects said they are all innocent and that any sex was consensual.
A doctor who examined the woman at Norwalk Hospital on July 31, the day the incident ended, found bruises on her neck and parts of her arms, where she had been held down, an affidavit says.
The doctor also found injuries that are typical in rape cases. The victim is not sure whether any of her attackers wore condoms.
"It was obvious something happened," the doctor told police, according to the affidavit.
The victim picked at least three suspects out of a photo lineup, records show.
The affidavit gives the following account:
The attack started sometime at about 3 p.m. July 30, when a friend of the victim's, whom she knew as J.B., called and asked whether she wanted to smoke marijuana.
The victim agreed as long as J.B., later identified as Catragne Moresca, 27, of 50 Elmcroft Road, Stamford, did not bring cocaine; the victim had just completed a stint in a drug rehabilitation facility.
The victim's record and possible drug use during the alleged assault are likely to be central issues in the case, attorneys said.
"I question the motive of anyone who is supposed to see her probation officer hours after ingesting crack cocaine, marijuana and Hennessy over a 15-hour time span," said Michael Colombo, the attorney for one suspect, 20-year-old Carl Colas of 42 Merrell Ave., Apt. B43, Stamford.
Moresca arrived at the victim's New Canaan home with a cousin she knew only as "Cliff," the affidavit continues.
They picked up another friend, identified as "Jay," and stopped at Moresca's home on Elmcroft Road.
After the group smoked crack and drank liquor in Moresca's bedroom, the man the victim knew as Cliff tried to undo the victim's bra and her belt, she told police.
Cliff, later identified as Wilkens Placide, 24, of 13 Center Ave., Norwalk, then allegedly pinned the victim, stripped her and forced her to have sex over her protests, she told police.
The man she knew as Jay then came into the room and raped her. About 15 minutes later, Moresca entered and forced her to have sex.
The victim ran her fingernails across Moresca's back, hoping to preserve bits of his skin underneath as evidence, the affidavit states.
Moresca's attorney, Auden Grogins, did not return calls seeking comment.
The men then left her alone in the bedroom for about half an hour, locking the door from the outside. She told police she didn't scream for help because she was afraid they would hurt her.
She couldn't call police because she had forgotten her cell phone, the affidavit states.
The men returned, and the victim asked them to take her home.
Instead, at about 9 p.m., they drove her to a house on Stillwater Avenue. Inside, two more men whom she did not know ordered her to have sex with them.
She overheard the other suspects referring to the men as Star and Segall, the affidavit states.
Segall, later identified as Colas, and Star allegedly took turns raping the victim.
A sixth man, who is not identified by any name, entered the room and raped her minutes later, the affidavit states.
Police later found a paper with a phone number written on it next to the name Star in the victim's pocket. The victim told police she did not write the phone number and that Star must have slipped the note into her pocket, according to the affidavit.
Colombo said his client claims the victim asked for the suspect's phone number because she wanted to meet up again.
"The truth will come out in this case," he said.
The men took her to a third location in Norwalk and allegedly had sex with her for several more hours.
They dropped the woman off at her family's home in New Canaan at about 5 a.m. July 31.
"You know what will happen if you call the cops," Moresca reportedly told her.
She told her sister and her probation officer about the alleged assault, and they urged her to seek treatment at the hospital.
She picked Colas, Moresca and Placide out of police photo lineups in August, the affidavit states.
Police drove the victim around Stamford and Norwalk and had her point to the houses where the assaults occurred. She picked out homes where Moresca and Placide live.
Police arrested Moresca and Placide on rape and first-degree kidnapping charges in August. Both are being held on $750,000 bond.
Police arrested Colas in September and charged him with first-degree sexual assault. He is being held on $350,000 bond.
Police also have charged Cliff Cenelien, 20, of Stamford, with first-degree sexual assault. Cenelien was not mentioned by name in the affidavits unsealed Thursday.
All four suspects are due to appear Jan. 25 at state Superior Court in Stamford.
Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
