Gang-Rape Defendant Disappears During Trial

Eric McGowen, one of the men accused of gang-raping an 11-year-old girl, is on the lam, after disappearing during a recess in his trial yesterday. The victim, who is going by the pseudonym "Regina," had just taken the stand, crying as prosecutors showed a graphic cellphone video in which a young man appears to have anal sex with her, the Houston Chronicle reports. In the background, a man is heard shouting, "Beat that ho!" She identified McGowen as that man.

She also recalled having oral sex with McGowen, and said he had sexually assaulted her with a beer bottle—as seen in another video. After the testimony the judge called a 10-minute recess, from which McGowen never returned. His lawyer initially assumed he was in the bathroom, but a search of the courthouse and surrounding grounds turned up nothing. The judge issued a warrant for his arrest, and bumped his bail up by $250,000. (More Bernard McGowen stories.)