Teen sues over alleged brutal locker room rape
BOISE, Idaho -- A black teenage boy who prosecutors say was sexually assaulted by three white football players in an Idaho high school locker room has sued the school district, saying the rape was the culmination of months of verbal and physical abuse.
The $10 million federal lawsuit filed May 13 says the school failed to prevent taunts and abuse despite many incidents happening in front of football coaches and other school officials.
An 18-year-old student, John Howard, and a 17-year-old were charged March 4 in adult court with felony forcible penetration by use of a foreign object. A third player is charged as a juvenile in connection with the Oct. 23 attack at Dietrich High School, in a rural town of 330 people that's predominantly white.
The lawsuit claims in that incident, a teammate "pretended to hug the plaintiff, bending him downward while another ... physically forced a coat hanger in the plaintiff's rectum."
The accused teen "then kicked the hanger several times, forcing it further into plaintiff's rectum," according to the lawsuit. "The plaintiff screamed and cried out but no staff member came to his assistance or even attempted to investigate the clamor within the locker room."
The lawsuit describes a long series of incidents in which the alleged victim, who suffers from "mental disorders, including learning disabilities," was subjected to physical and emotional abuse by his teammates. One of the teens is accused of teaching the victim, now 18, to play a song associated with Ku Klux Klan, demanding the victim recite the song in front of a Confederate flag that was posted on the suspect's computer.
In another incident, the lawsuit claims the student arrived to class and was shown a drawing depicting him sitting in the back of a bus -- a reference to racial segregation.
The lawsuit also claims one student beat him unconscious in front of staff and players during a summer training camp, and on another occasion says the victim was given a "wedgie" so hard the stitches and hems of his underpants tore.
School officials have declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press.