Three of the suspects in the alleged rapes are led from the Wayne County courtroom

October 27, 1999
Web posted at: 1:58 p.m. EDT (1758 GMT)

In this story: Prosecutors won't let alleged victims go home RELATED STORIES, SITES

DETROIT (CNN) -- Five suspects will be put on trial in the alleged rapes of four Wisconsin teen-age girls who testified they were repeatedly raped while held captive in a Detroit home. The girls, ages 14, 15, 16 and 17, and the suspects are Laotian-Americans of the Hmong ethnic group.

Authorities are searching for seven more suspects, accusing them of 16 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, Michigan's equivalent of rape.

On Tuesday, Wayne County District Judge David Bradfield ordered trials for the first five suspects -- a 20-year-old man and four teen-agers. Each is accused of several counts of criminal sexual conduct.

The move ended a two-day hearing that included nine hours of testimony by the girls, all of whom said they willingly came to Detroit. The girls have told authorities they were lured from Wisconsin to attend a party in Michigan celebrating the Hmong New Year.

Police say this is the house where the four teen-age girls allegedly were held captive

The girls testified they were repeatedly raped over several days after being brought to Detroit and kept in a house by several males who they said threatened assault or death if they tried to flee.

"When one person finished having intercourse with me, the next person came," one girl testified. When asked how many people she said, "Maybe seven."

The four alleged victims will remain held in Michigan -- against their will -- for the foreseeable future. Prosecutors are concerned about the girls' safety, and want them to be available for testimony in case other suspects are arrested.

Assistant Wayne County prosecutor Larry Shulman cites testimony from one alleged victim who says she lied in a statement to police about being attacked because, "I was afraid for my family."

Bradfield ordered the five defendants to remain jailed in lieu of $1 million bond apiece. They'll be arraigned next month and could receive life sentences if convicted.

Many Hmong fought alongside U.S. troops in Laos, then fled after the Communist takeover of South Vietnam in 1975. An estimated 250,000 Hmong refugees now live in the United States, most in California, Minnesota and Wisconsin. About 7,000 live in the Detroit area.

Detroit Bureau Chief Ed Garsten and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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