Three students at Ooltewah High School in Tennessee have been charged with the aggravated rape and assault of a 15-year-old freshman.
The accuser was reportedly beaten and sodomized with a wooden pool cue in a cabin during an overnight trip to Gatlinburg for a basketball tournament on December 21st.
A family member has stated that after the “torture” the 15-year-old was taken to a nearby hospital by head coach Andre Montgomery however he was only seen briefly before being released.
The boy was reportedly “not given a proper exam” and collapsed from his injuries, which include a ruptured colon, the following day. The family member stated:
“Once he collapsed, he was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. He had to undergo emergency surgery.”
The 15-year-old boy spent just over a week in hospital and must wear a catheter and colostomy bag as a result of his injuries. His physical recovery will reportedly take around three months however his family believe his emotional recovery will take far longer.
One family member claims the boy has regular nightmares and has said:
“He has stated he thought he was going to die as a result of the assault.”
Other members of the basketball team claim that they were also beaten during the trip to Gatlinburg and allegations that this was not an isolated incident has resulted into police in Hamilton County investigating the school.
The 15-year-old-boy told investigators that beatings occurred “on a regular basis in the locker room” and described such incidents as a “ritual for freshmen.”
The school reportedly has a “history of hazing” and the way they have handled the recent incident has only fuelled these accusations.
In the days following the alleged attack, the team were allowed to stay in Gatlinburg and participate in the tournament and were even allowed to play in another tournament a few days afterwards. Although the school has since cancelled the rest of the basketball season and kicked the alleged attackers off the team, it took days for the three students to be suspended from school resulting in speculation over the school’s conduct.
Image by Victor via Flickr under this Creative Commons License.
