NEWTON ? One man has pleaded guilty and five others are charged in a case alleging they had sex with three middle school girls.

The case began when administrators at Chisholm Middle School called the Newton Police Department asking for a truancy check on a 15-year-old girl.

When an officer found the girl at an apartment Jan. 10, authorities say, she confided she had been having sex with an older man and that two 13-year-old girls who attended a different school were also involved with the men.

All six suspects, as well as a seventh man being sought for questioning, lived at the apartment complex. Harvey County Attorney David Yoder said at least some are believed to be illegal immigrants.

Jaimie Lopez-Garcia, 23, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. Two other counts were dismissed, and sentencing is set for March 12.

The other suspects face varying counts including aggravated indecent liberties with a child, aggravated sodomy and rape. Consensual sex with someone under the age of 14 is considered rape under Kansas law.

Israel Marcial-Lopez, 23, and Julian Vasquez, 24, pleaded not guilty Monday and are scheduled to return to court next month.

Preliminary hearings are scheduled Jan. 31 for William E. Najera, 19, and two 17-year-olds – Carlos Juarez and Michel Garcia – who are being prosecuted as adults.

Yoder said the alleged crimes began in June 2006, after the 15-year-old girl moved to a neighborhood near the men’s apartment complex.