Police: Conn. teens mishear sex screams, beat man

TORRINGTON, Conn. (AP) - Police say a Connecticut girl overheard her
mother's screams during sex and thought she was being assaulted, so she
rounded up some friends to attack the woman's companion.

The 16-year-old girl, two boys and a 19-year-old man were arrested
Tuesday and arraigned Wednesday on assault and conspiracy charges.

According to Torrington police and the woman, the girl thought her mother
was being attacked on June 6. Police say the teens went into the bedroom
and beat the mother's 25-year-old companion with a baseball bat and
punched him. The man, Roger Swanson of Torrington, says he suffered a
black eye and several bruises.

The woman, Melanie Arnold, denies she screamed. She tells The Associated
Press her daughter heard a slap and thought it was an assault.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information.
AP's earlier story is below.

TORRINGTON, Conn. (AP)—A group of teenagers misunderstood a woman's
screams during sex and, thinking they were stopping an assault, beat a
25-year-old man in her bedroom, police said.

A 16-year-old girl who lives in the same Torrington home as the 34-year-old
woman overheard her and the man on June 6 and rounded up four friends to
stop what they thought was an attack, police Lt. Bruce Whiteley said
Thursday.

One of the five teens beat the man with a bat and others punched him,
police said. The man was treated at a hospital for injuries that were not
life-threatening, and was released that night.

"Apparently he didn't have time to explain himself," Whiteley said.

The girl, two 17-year-old boys and Dilyen Langdeau, 19, of Torrington, were
arrested Tuesday night and arraigned in Bantam Superior Court on
Wednesday. Langdeau was charged with assault and conspiracy; the teens
face similar counts. The fifth teenager was not charged.

A judge sealed the police report. The names of the girl and the two boys
were not released because of their ages, and her relationship to the woman
wasn't clear.

Messages left at a phone listing in the woman's name and at a phone listing
for Langdeau's address were not immediately returned. It wasn't clear if
Langdeau has hired an attorney.

There was no phone listing for the victim.

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