Bottom row (from left): Da’Juan Oshea Degrate, 18; Douglas Demond Canada, 19; Cory Darnell Hall, 18
Five teenagers and one 20-year-old could spend the rest of their natural life in prison for the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl. According to a report by the Waco Tribune, the men where indicted on a total of 91 counts. If convicted, the young males could be sentenced to 1,300 years each.
On April 23, Douglas Canada,19, and Da’Juan Degrate, 18, convinced the 15-year-old girl to cut school at Waco High School. The girl agreed to hang with her classmates at a home, but she soon discovered that four other men where also inside.
Canada took the girl to a restroom and allegedly raped her. The girl told police that after Canada finished, the other males took turns having sex with her in a bedroom.
Along with Canada and Degrate, the other men who were at the home include Devoric Javon Evans, 20; Lamont Tray Davis, 19; Day’tron Derrell Smith, 18; and Cory Darnell Hall, 18.
After the sexual act, Davis drove the girl back to her high school. She reported the assault and was taken to a hospital. Canada faces a maximum of 1,360 years in prison while the others face 1,340 years in prison.
The men face steep sentences because of a Texas law known as “acting in concert.” It makes every person at the scene of a crime responsible for the crime committed.
