BATON ROUGE — A judge declined to dismiss a first-degree rape charge for a suspect accused of raping Madison Brooks, The Advocate reported Monday.  

Desmond Carter, 21, one of three suspects in the rape of Brooks in a vehicle before her death, faces charges of first-degree and third-degree rape. His trial is scheduled for Aug. 17. 

Carter's defense team put forward a motion to quell Carter's first-degree rape charge because state law is unconstitutionally vague, the newspaper reported. Judge Gail Horne Ray dismissed the motion, but agreed that the first-degree rape law is poorly written.

According to The Advocate, defense attorney Caitlin Fowlkes challenged a section of the state statute that says the charge of first-degree rape is called for "when two or more offenders participated in the act." Fowlkes argued that the first-degree rape statute's language implies that the sex act is "deemed to be without lawful consent" only because it is group sex. 

She also argued the use of the word "offenders" presupposes the defendant's guilt, rather than having the state prove their guilt.