High School Football Players Charged with Rape of Mentally Disabled Student

Five football players in Washington State have been charged with the attempted rape of a mentally disabled student.

The Seattle Times reports the accused attended Juanita High in Kirkland, WA at the time of the assault. The attack took place Oct. 22, 2014.

The attack is said to have taken place in the boy's locker room of the high school after the attackers tricked the subject into entering the locker room showers. Once in the showers, the attackers grabbed the victim and pulled down his pants as one of the perpetrators tried to sodomize the 18-year-old victim with a broom.

The Times says that the prosecutor in the case has obtained text and video evidence from cell phones that implies the entire event was orchestrated well ahead of time. An unknown number of people saw the 30-second-long incident. Some of the bystanders notified the police and told them that at least one person was recording the incident on their cell phone.

King 5 reports that the attack was thwarted after bystanders who were disturbed by what they saw intervened.

The five attackers consisted of four 15-year-olds and one 14-year-old, all of whom have since been expelled from Juanita High. They will face the consequences of their crime in juvenile court as a result of their young age. It is not clear if the attackers have enrolled in another school.

After news of the attack became known in Nov., two football coaches at the school were put on administrative leave. They have since returned to work.

The school has revamped its locker room security and said that it will add a section to its coaches' training protocol that emphasizes just how important such security is.

The attackers' first appearance in court is slated for Feb. 20.