Teen charged with sexual assault on team bus trip

WENATCHEE, Wash. (AP) — A 14-year-old high school freshman in Washington state has been charged with second-degree rape after prosecutors say he sexually assaulted three students on a football team bus trip.

But the parents and attorney of the boy said it was horseplay among boys.

The boy penetrated three other boys with his finger against their will Sept. 6 on a bus bringing the Wenatchee High School freshman football team back from a game in Spokane, authorities said.

The boy has been in custody since then and is being held on a $50,000 bail.

But the boy’s parents and their attorney, Brandon Redal, said the incident stemmed from “horseplay” and that the evidence doesn’t support rape charges, The Wenatchee World reported (http://bit.ly/1mepEPQ ).

One of the victims initially told police officers that students were playing around and “he didn’t feel anything bad happened,” according to a police report filed with the court.

However, that student and two others later disclosed the assault to a detective, saying other players witnessed it.

Juvenile prosecutor Allen Blackmon said the boy could face a year or more in state detention on each count because he had a previous run-in with the law after he punched a classmate.

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Information from: The Wenatchee World, http://www.wenatcheeworld.com

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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