Soccer players named in alleged gang rape case

LONDON (AP) -- Newcastle's Titus Bramble and Chelsea's Carlton Cole were identified Tuesday as the Premier League players under investigation in connection with the alleged gang rape of a teenage girl.

Bramble, 22, and Cole, 19, who is currently on loan to Charlton, were named as suspects after the Attorney General lifted a ban on revealing their identities.

"The identification procedure has now taken place so the objection to the identification no longer applies," the Attorney General's office said.

The players were arrested on Oct. 19 in the alleged attack on a 17-year-old girl at the five-star Grosvenor Park hotel in London in the early hours of Sept. 27.

The girl told police she agreed to have sex with one man but was raped or sexually assaulted by up to seven others, including several soccer players.

Bramble and Cole were asked to give DNA samples and were released on bail. Shortly afterward, Newcastle midfielder Kieron Dyer issued a statement denying any involvement.

The Metropolitan Police will send a file on the case to the Crown Prosecution Service within two weeks. The CPS will then decide whether to file charges.

Two other men were also arrested in October in the case. Nicholas Meikle, 29, described as a party organizer, and engineer Jason Edwards, 27, were released on bail.

(knr)