May 5, 6:13 PM EDT

3 illegal immigrants say armed, masked men raped them

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Two teenagers and a 20-year-old woman say armed men wearing masks raped them after they illegally crossed the Arizona-Mexico border.

The Arizona Daily Star reports on its Web site that the three reported a group of masked men carrying rifles approached their group of 10 border-crossers on Friday and then raped the three of them.

The teens were 16 and 17 years old.

U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Rob Daniels says one of the three said she was raped by six men, and the other two said they were each raped once.

He says the Mexican Consulate was called and Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputies took statements on the incident. The three declined to file a formal complaint.

They voluntarily returned to Mexico.

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Information from: Arizona Daily Star, http://www.azstarnet.com

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