Trial of 1st UMass Gang Rape Suspect to Start

The trial of the first of four men charged with participating in the gang rape of a University of Massachusetts student in her dorm is expected to start this week.

Opening statements in the trial of Emmanuel Bile are scheduled for Friday in Hampshire Superior Court, following the completion of jury selection expected Thursday.

Bile, of Pittsfield, is one of four men, all teenagers at the time, charged with raping the woman in her Amherst dorm room in October 2012. None of the suspects was a UMass student, but they all knew the woman. Their lawyers say the sex was consensual.

The woman, who drank alcohol and smoked marijuana with the defendants, told police she didn't consent.

Trial dates for the other three defendants have not been scheduled.