Overview

• The seven defendants, aged 14 to 17, face charges including rape, sexual coercion, extortion, repeated theft and arson, alleged to have occurred in varying groupings.
• The case began after an initially consensual relationship in April 2024 between the teacher and a former pupil, which prosecutors say was not a crime because he was over 14.
• According to the prosecution, the youths presented themselves as a gang, threatened to reveal purported sex and drug parties, and pressed the teacher to fund food, taxis and tobacco.
• Prosecutors allege two teens raped the teacher in August 2024 and say she now suffers from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Defense lawyers reject the sexual-offense allegations as non-consensual, while the accused have only partially admitted to theft, drug use and the January apartment fire that investigators linked to the broader pattern.