Gang victims sought in Montgomery County

WASHINGTON – A gang in the region associated with gruesome crimes has been weakened, but officials are still asking people with information to step up.

Known as “Little R,” the gang operated in Wheaton and Olney – and members have been prosecuted for a range of crimes.

“One of those individuals, Andres Cortez, was convicted of participating in essentially a gang rape that was videotaped,” said Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

That incident involved a 16-year-old girl. McCarthy says that the sentencing judge called it the most horrifying thing she had ever seen.

McCarthy says his office convicted 22 members of the gang, and the conviction of Cortez, the gang’s leader, likely gutted the operation. But he says there is evidence that other members of the gang have committed other crimes, and he’s still asking potential victims to come forward.

“We know that there are others out there in our community that have been victimized by this group.”

WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report. Follow @KateRyanWTOP and @WTOP on Twitter.

See the report from ABC7 below:

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up