A black adult charged in the gang rape of a California 11-year-old pleads not guilty

The only adult charged in the gang rape of an 11-year-old California girl has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, kidnapping to commit rape and engaging in criminal street gang activity. Michael Devon Sykes, 19, also denied special allegations that would enhance the charges during a brief arraignment hearing in court. Sykes is one of at least five people charged in either adult or juvenile court in the March 10, 2011 assault. Prosecutors say that she was walking home from school when she was lured by an older girl into a park bathroom and attacked by seven teenage boys. Police have said that some of the teens are known members of a gang called the South Side Mafia, which first came to the attention of authorities in late 2008. Four of the teens, who range in age from 15 to 17, have been charged in juvenile court. Prosecutors are fighting to move those cases to adult court and cite the premeditated nature and severity of the crimes for doing so. A juvenile court judge has ordered the Probation Department to prepare a report on the teens by April 25, 2011 as he decides whether to send them to adult court.