Hofstra Student Made Up Gang Rape Story

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - A Hofstra University student admitted Wednesday that she made up a story about being gang raped by five men. The District Attorney dropped all of the charges against four defendants in the case.

The woman had told police that she was attacked at about 3 a.m. on Sunday after being lured into a men's bathroom in the dormitory.

Jesus Ortiz, 19, and Rondell Bedward, 21, both of the Bronx were arraigned on rape charges on Monday.

Stalin Felipe, 19, of the Bronx, and Kevin Taveras, 20, of Brentwood, Long Island were arraigned Tuesday in Hempstead.

Bedward is a Hofstra student, police said. The others are his friends.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said, while she was being questioned Wednesday evening, the woman admitted that the encounter was consensual.

Nassau County Judge Robert Bruno quickly dismissed the charges and ordered their release.

Rice says her office has launched an immediate criminal investigation into the statements and reports given by the woman in connection with this incident.

There had been anger on the Hofstra campus that students and parents were not alerted quickly enough about the reported sex attack.