ELIZABETH: GUILTY PLEA IN SEX ATTACK

Manuel Batista, a 16 year old boy from Scotch Plains, pleaded guilty yesterday as an adult to aggravated sexual assault.  He admitted being part of a gang of five teenagers who sexually assault a 13 year old girl in a dry creek bed near a school last month.  Under a deal with prosecutors that requires him to testify against the other four charged in the case, he faces five years in prison and cannot become eligible for parole until he is 20.

(Elizabeth, New Jersey)