This is horrible.
Five football players from Juanita High School in Seattle — are accused of sodomizing an 18-year-old special education student with a broomstick in October.
The students — all between the age of 14 and 15 — were charged on Friday with second-degree rape. They will be arraigned in juvenile court on February 20.
The Seattle Times reports that the student was allegedly lured into the shower of the locker room on October 22.
Court documents say an 18-year-old special-education student was lured into the shower area of the locker room, then held down by three of the boys, who pulled down his pants and underwear while another boy attempted to sodomize him with a broomstick. Witness accounts and text messages leading up to the event suggested the incident was planned.
Multiple students witnessed the attack, which reportedly lasted about 30 seconds, according to court documents. Several students reported to Kirkland Police Department detectives that they saw one student recording the attack with his cellphone.
“Although the incident does not appear to have been sexually motivated, the charges reflect that the attack involved an attempted or threatened penetration with a broom handle while one student was restrained by several others,” the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
The Seattle Times is not naming the defendants because they were charged in juvenile court. All five have been expelled, Lake Washington School District Communications Director Kathryn Reith said in a statement released Friday afternoon.
Two coaches from the Juanita staff were placed on administrative leave while the Lake Washington School District continued its investigation of the reported assault.