Alleged teen rape victim of carnival worker recants story

MARSHFIELD, Mass. -- The Plymouth District Attorney's office says that one of the two girls who accused a carnival worker of rape has recanted her story.

A Plymouth District Court judge, however, on Wednesday rejected prosecutors' recommendation that 18-year-old Jeffrey Witham, of Oxford, Maine, be released pending a pre-trial hearing next month.

Witham remains held on $150,000 bail set earlier in the week. He's charged with raping two girls -- ages 13 and 14 -- who he met while working at the Marshfield Fair. The alleged attacks occurred at the home of one of the victims.

Plymouth District Attorney spokeswoman Bridget Norton Middleton says one girl indicated that she and Witham had consensual sex. Middleton says because the girl is under 16, it would still be considered child rape even if not by force.

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