While there was a sex act at Northeast High School Jan. 19, charges have been dropped against the seven teens accused of raping a 16-year-old special-needs student.

Inconsistencies arose during the Macon police investigation of the case. As a result, police questioned the girl Friday, and she admitted making false statements to her mother and police about the incident, said police Maj. Charles Stone.

The girl is now charged with a felony, making false statements to law enforcement, and a misdemeanor, falsely reporting a crime, District Attorney Greg Winters said.

While authorities haven’t released information about what actually transpired during the incident, Winters said “the way it occurred was not consistent with what she said occurred.”

Corey Goble, the campus police officer who handled the case before Macon police joined the investigation Jan. 31, said any school discipline that might be imposed on the girl or the seven teens would be an administrative issue.

Representatives from the school system administration didn’t attend the Friday afternoon news conference.

Messages left for the attorney representing the girl were not returned Friday.

Winters said it would be inappropriate to comment about possible criminal punishment for the girl because the case will be handled in Bibb County Juvenile Court.

The seven teens who were charged with rape have been released from jail, Winters said. Three of the boys are minors.

Winters praised the work of both Bibb County’s campus police and Macon police officers in the case and said there was “probable cause” to support the arrests. The officers responded appropriately by continuing to investigate after the arrests, he said.

For more on this story, return to macon.com and read Saturday’s Telegraph.