Police investigate assaults of three girls

Staff report

new wilmington, pa.

State police are investigating a report that three girls were assaulted by five men at a horse auction.

The victims were a 13-year-old from Mercer, Pa., and a 13- and a 12-year-old from Grove City, Pa.

The suspects range in age from 18 to 25, police said.

The girls were with their parents at the auction Friday, which is on Pa. Route 208 outside New Wilmington, police said.

The girls were outside in a play area around 11 p.m. when the men, who appeared to be drunk or on drugs, approached them, police said.

The girls were grabbed and fondled, and if they didn’t listen to the men’s demands, they were punched, police said.

One of the girls said she was dragged down several steps. She was treated at an area hospital, police said.

Police said they interviewed several witnesses who confirmed the girls’ accounts of what happened.

State Police Trooper Matthew Roth said police have learned the identity of three of the suspects, and charges are pending.

He said the investigation is continuing.