Charges filed: 3 teens accused in September 2017 sexual assault in Oak Creek
MILWAUKEE COUNTY -- Three teenage boys are accused in the sexual assault of a teenage girl -- a crime that allegedly happened in September 2017. The accused are 17-year-old Kyle Barstow of Peshtigo, 17-year-old Austin Menhorn of Hales Corners and 17-year-old Dallas Menhorn of Hales Corners. They are being charged as adults.
All three teens, who were 16 at the time of the alleged crime, face a charge of second degree sexual assault, as a party to a crime -- and each of the Menhorns also faces a charge of capture an intimate representation without consent (victim under age 18).
According to the criminal complaint, the alleged victim in this case spoke with Oak Creek police on Sept. 24, 2018 -- she wanted to report a sexual assault that took place the previous year. The girl (who was 16 at the time of the alleged crime) told police "she ran away from her mom and went to the park behind Target (Oak Leaf Park)" in Oak Creek. When the girl got to the park, she saw four males. They included the three named suspects as well as a fourth teen (who was 15 at the time of the alleged crime) and is currently in the juvenile detention center. The girl knew all of them from school.
Oak Leaf Park, Oak Creek
The complaint indicates at some point, the unnamed teen demanded a sex act from the girl. When the girl said "no," the unnamed teen replied saying, "What would you do if someone forced you?" The complaint says the teen then "instructed the defendants to pick up (the girl) and throw her into the river that flows by West Puetz Road by the railroad tracks" if she did not perform the sex act. The complaint indicates the victim complied -- and the teens charged in this crime "videotaped and photographed" the incident.
Kyle Barstow
Afterwards, the complaint indicates the girl "wanted to go back home and talk to her mom," but the unnamed teen "grabbed her arm and hit her in the face, telling (the girl) that she had to stay with him." The complaint also indicates the unnamed teen took a coat hanger from the girl's backpack "and put it over her head and around her neck." The complaint says the unnamed teen said "he would choke her if she didn't follow him around for the rest of the day." The girl complied, the complaint says -- and at the end of the day, the unnamed teen's mother picked up him and the girl went back to her house.
Austin Menhorn, one of the brothers, told police that he "didn't agree with anything they were doing, but if he told them to stop, they would not listen to him."
The girl told police "she was reporting this now because there are pictures surfacing" of the incident.
Barstow had his initial appearance in court on Wednesday, Nov. 14. He is scheduled to appear for his preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 21.
The Menhorns are out of custody -- and scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 14. FOX6 News spoke with a family member of the Menhorns about the incident. We are waiting for a comment on the allegations.