Two gang rape suspects plead guilty

SALEM – Two of the three suspects in the gang rape of a then-teenager in Lynn four years ago pleaded guilty to aggravated rape charges in Superior Court today.Judge John T. “Jack” Lu sentenced Luis Arias, 22, to four years and six months and Justin Louf, 21, to three to four years in state prison after hearing a statement from the victim, who is now in her early 20s.Assistant District Attorney Greg Friedholm alleged that the suspects, who were supposed to be taking the girl home after a Lynn English Basketball game, instead drove around the city drinking with her from a bottle of Bacardi liquor before taking her to a Lynn apartment.They then proceeded to hold her down and rape her, Friedholm said, and Arias put a pillow over her face to muffle her screams.Friedholm called the suspect’s actions that night “appalling” and “inhumane.” He recommended seven to nine years for Arias and five to six years for Louf.Read the complete story in Friday’s Daily Item.