Teenage girls suspected in assault

Five Carson High School girls are in custody at the Carson City Juvenile Detention Center, accused of abducting a 15-year-old girl from the school and assaulting her at Mills Park on Tuesday.

The girls, ages 14 to 17, are under investigation for the assault, which was reported at 3:09 p.m. The arrests were made Thursday evening, said Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Sheila Banister.

The alleged victim was treated at Carson-Tahoe Hospital for minor injuries and released.

Banister said charges of kidnapping, robbery, battery, child endangerment and accessory to kidnapping are being considered for the assailants. A probation officer was in the process of interviewing suspects Wednesday to work out the charges.

"The story is that a juvenile was kidnapped with some injuries, but it is unsure if she went voluntarily," Banister said. "It's a lot of 'he said, she said.'"

Chief Sheriff's Deputy Scott Burau said the details of the incident are tenuous and the charges may exaggerate the seriousness of the altercation. Investigators are considering the possibility that tension between the victim and alleged assailants has been brewing for months.

Along for the ride, Burau said, where two children, ages 1 and 7, who were being babysitted when the alleged assault happened.

"They told the 7-year-old to participate," he said. "They said to punch the victim."

A previous incident of graffiti on a car and a spoiled boyfriend/girlfriend relationship may have contributed to the tension, Burau said.

Banister said there have been no indications that the assault was gang related, but investigators are looking into that possibility.