CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Two West Virginia minors are facing sexual assault and other charges after an alleged incident at a hotel involving members of a high school wrestling team, authorities say.
Raleigh County Sheriff James Canaday said the perpetrators each face two counts of second-degree assault, unlawful restraint and conspiracy to commit a crime, according to a post on his office’s Facebook page. He said juvenile petitions were filed Tuesday regarding the charges, which stem from an ongoing investigation into an incident earlier this year in a Raleigh County hotel room. The students attended Greenbrier West High School.
Raleigh County Prosecutor Ben Hatfield told the Associated Press on Wednesday that there are two victims, both of whom are minors, hence the two counts for each of the three charges. He said the crime is best characterized “as a completely avoidable situation that went so far beyond what was appropriate” that it became violently criminal.
“This is a situation that I believe was intentional, that I believe occurred with a lack of impulse control and that I believe deserves to be punished,” Hatfield said.
He said his office needs more information at this early stage in the case before it can determine its preferred course of action for pursuing punishment. Prosecutors will conduct their own investigation in addition to the sheriff’s investigation. He said he knows what they did, now he needs to know why and if it has ever happened before and to other students.
“I need to determine whether or not this was a single incident at a micro level, or whether this was a predominant problem,” he said.
No further information can be released at this time because the cases involve children, officials said.
Under the West Virginia Code, second-degree assault is a felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. A person is guilty of second-degree sexual assault when he or she forced another person to engage in non-consensual sexual intercourse or committed sexual intercourse or sexually penetrated “another person who is physically helpless.”
As the case progresses, the court will decide whether or not the juveniles should be tried as adults.
Both Raleigh County and Greenbrier County, which borders Virginia, are located in the southern part of the state.
The Associated Press left messages on the Greenbrier County district office line Wednesday and sent an email to Jeanie Wyatt, chair of the Greenbrier Board of Education, seeking comment.
Just last week, the Greenbrier County School Board met in a special session to accept the retirement of Superintendent Jeffrey Bryant and the resignation of Greenbrier West Principal Adam Young, The Register-Herald reported. The board met the same week. News reports revealed a racist incident at Greenbrier West High School, in which a black female student was called the n-word in graffiti on a classroom wall.
Bryant’s last day as superintendent is Friday, the last day of spring break.