Charges: Sex Assault Investigation Stalled Until After Championship
EDEN VALLEY, Minn. (WCCO) -- The push to a state championship may have slowed the investigation into an assault on a high school baseball field. The alleged incident happened in April at Eden Valley-Watkins High.
Charges against one teenager came down Friday. Details were released late Monday afternoon. Be forewarned, the accusations are disturbing.
The Meeker County Attorney's investigation uncovered what happened along the third baseline at Hawks Field back in April. Statements taken from the victim put him and three other Eden-Valley Watkins baseball players on the field after practice.
The victim says he was held down by two players while the third player used his fingers to violate him.
The victim did not tell his parents or report the incident to coaches, but he says when he returned to school on Monday, everyone knew about the incident.
Coaches eventually found out, but were told by players it was all a rumor. By that time, the team was well on its way to a perfect 27-0 season.
According to court documents, text messages were passed amongst the players telling everyone to keep their mouth shut. Players did not want the incident to interfere with the state tournament. After they won the state championship and right before graduation, the text messages were shown to the county attorney.
The player in question admitted his guilt and said he was sorry. That player has been charged with fifth degree assault. He claims it was an accident and his hand slipped while wrestling with the victim.
Seven months passed from the time the incident happened until someone was charged.
The county attorney says the district did nothing wrong since when they investigated, they were told nothing happened.
