Five students at Brunswick (Md.) High School have been charged with assault, and one with sexual assault, after an investigation into allegations of an April attack in a lacrosse locker room.
As reported by NBC affiliate WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., the criminal allegations against the five students, ranging in age from 15 to 17, will be handled in juvenile court, Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said.
Five students at Brunswick (Md.) High School have been charged with assault, and one with sexual assault, after an investigation into allegations of an April attack in a lacrosse locker room.
As reported by NBC affiliate WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., the criminal allegations against the five students, ranging in age from 15 to 17, will be handled in juvenile court, Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said.
He said detectives investigating the April 11 incident discovered an earlier and similar incident April 3, with a second alleged victim, in which some of the same students were involved.
“I think the investigators did a great job of broadening the investigation to find that second event, second incident that happened previous to the first reported incident,” Jenkins said.
A lawsuit has been filed by the parents of one of the alleged victims, referred to as John Doe #1, a minor.
Related: Parents Sue Maryland School Officials Over Alleged Sexual Assault in Lacrosse Locker Room
It accuses Brunswick’s principal, athletic director and head lacrosse coach of negligence.
The suit claims the alleged assault took place in an unsupervised lacrosse locker room prior to the start of practice.
It alleges that “as many as three lacrosse players held [the student down]” and ”touched, assaulted and slapped him with a [sex toy].”
The lawsuit also alleges that “the perpetrators video recorded the sexual assault and the video has been distributed to the public.”
It further alleges that John Doe left the locker room afterward and immediately called his mother, who contacted the athletic director and coach and demanded they call the police. After several hours of alleged inaction by school officials, the parents contacted the police themselves.
A spokesperson for Frederick County Public Schools said they do not comment on pending litigation.
