Mom Charged in Daughter's Rape

June 1, 2005 -- -- A Suffolk County, N.Y., mother has been charged with accessory to rape after allegedly standing by while two men sexually assaulted her 13-year-old daughter and the girl's 14-year-old friend in a hotel room because she believed it was time the teenager had sex.

"She was amused by it, she thought it was just something that should happen, the sooner it happened the better," said Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

The incident allegedly occurred on April 10 in a White Plains hotel room, after the woman took the girls on a two-day shopping trip, Pirro said. The woman allegedly invited two men she met at a restaurant to the hotel room for a party, Pirro said.

The 41-year-old mother's name was not released to protect the identity of the two girls. She was indicted Tuesday on charges of accessory to second-degree rape, endangering the welfare of a child and unlawfully dealing with a child, among other crimes.

The two men, Gilberto Gonzalez, 19, of Pleasantville, and Michael Berger, 18, of White Plains, where charged with second-degree rape and other sex crimes. They could each face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the rape charges.

The woman's attorney, Ted Brundage, told The Associated Press he could not comment because he had not yet seen the indictment.

According to the indictments, the mother and two girls first met the men in an elevator at the City Center mall, and saw them again in a restaurant where they exchanged cell phone numbers.

They arranged to meet again in the Crowne Plaza Hotel room the woman had reserved for their shopping trip, where they could "get comfortable," Pirro said.

The mother went to a nearby gas station to buy beer and hard lemonade for the teenagers, and she did nothing to stop the two young men when they started kissing and fondling the girls on the beds in the hotel room.

"It's clear that the mother knew what was going on," Pirro said. "Not only did she know what was going on, not only did she have the boys in the bedroom, not only did she buy the alcohol, but the girls had indicated to her that they had sex."