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The first of three teens accused of raping a fourth teen at the Youth Diagnostic and Development Center in Albuquerque will remain in custody for the rest of his childhood.

Adam Landon, 15, admitted to one count of first-degree kidnapping Friday for a bullying incident known as "punking" that led to the sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy spending his first night at the center on Edith Boulevard Northeast.

"I was involved in intimidating (the boy)," the small, thin and bespectacled Landon told Children's Court Judge John J. Romero Jr.

Because the state agreed that Landon was amenable to treatment, he will not face adult sanctions but instead will remain in the custody of the state Children, Youth and Families Department until he turns 21.

Under the plea agreement, nine other charges are dismissed, including four counts of criminal sexual penetration and charges of harassment, battery and conspiracy.

Two other boys - Darnyle Pioche and Augustine Chavez, both 16 - are scheduled for trial April 2 in Albuquerque on similar charges.

If convicted, each could face up to 82 years in adult prison.

Landon, who was 14 at the time of the Sept. 21 incident, offered his apologies to the victim's mother, who tearfully thanked him.

"I pray for you both every night," he said meekly, looking and sounding more like a science fair contestant than a participant in a rape.

Prosecutor Ken Fladager would not discuss what Landon's specific role in the rape had been, nor whether the kidnapping plea indicated that he had not participated in the actual rape.

"Let's just say he was the first one to step up," Fladager said.

Landon and his co-defendants are accused of harassing the victim as soon as he arrived at YDDC to serve a one-year commitment for probation violation and residential burglary. The victim was then sexually assaulted when the lights went out that evening.

The boy's mother, who is not being named to protect her son's identity, said Friday that her son remains in "treatment."

She has filed a federal lawsuit against YDDC Director Bruce Langston and five unnamed CYFD employees, charging that the state did not protect her son while he was in its care.

"The idea that this could take place while my client is in the custody of the state is simply unacceptable," said the mother's attorney, Sam Bregman, who attended Friday's hearing.

"It's unbelievable that in any form a child could be a victim of kidnapping under the auspices of the state," he said. "Where was the supervision?"

The incident brought attention to YDDC, the state's major facility for adjudicated youths, and drew concern that it was overcrowded and dangerous, particularly after the state closed the New Mexico Boys School in Springer, which had housed some of the more violent offenders.

Since then, CYFD has implemented a number of new procedures and safety measures and has formed a committee to look into further improvements.

Romero, responding to the victim's mother's concerns, recommended that Landon be placed in a different cottage at YDDC and away from any youths who may have been living in the cottage at the time of the attack.

Landon, of Silver City, had been sent to YDDC after admitting to charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, shooting at or from a vehicle, unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon and possession of marijuana.

Pioche, of Farmington, has incurred three aggravated battery charges since age 13.

Chavez, of Grants, lists numerous violent offenses on his already lengthy criminal record and was sent to YDDC on drug trafficking charges.

Both Landon and Pioche are gang members, court officials have said. It was unclear whether Chavez is as well.