Four basketball players from Ridge View High School are charged with attacking two other students while at the school, with one student accused of sexually assaulting a victim, Richland County deputies said.
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department charged three players with assault and battery by mob and second-degree assault and battery. The fourth player is charged with first degree criminal sexual conduct. The charges stem from separate incidents at the school on Monday and Tuesday.
The teenage suspects’ names are withheld because they are juveniles, but all the teens are male, two of them are 14 years old and the other two are 15 years old, according to a sheriff’s department statement. The victim also is a male.
An incident report said the suspects were members of a basketball team at Ridge View, but the report redacts the specific team.
One incident was reported to a deputy during a basketball game on Tuesday, according to the report. Two Ridge View coaches told the deputy that a parent had contacted the school about an assault.
Earlier that day, three basketball players grabbed a 15-year-old student in a school locker room and held him down. A fourth player “committed a criminal sexual act” against the victim, deputies said.
After learning about the assault, deputies charged the three players who held down the victim with assault and battery by mob. Deputies charged the other player with first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
While investigating that assault, deputies learned of a similar incident that happened the day before some of the same group of players.
Monday, three players assaulted a 14-year-old student while at the school, deputies said. Deputies charged one teen with second degree assault and battery while the other two teens were charged with assault and battery by mob. The teen facing the second degree assault charge is the same teen facing the criminal sexual conduct charge in the Tuesday incident, deputies said.
The assaults went beyond hazing, according to sheriff’s department spokesperson Maria Yturria. “Hazing implies an initiation and we don’t believe that’s what it was,” she said.
Deputies, who are still investigating, said district and school administrators have been very cooperative.
Richland District 2 spokesperson Libby Roof sent to The State a statement the school sent to parents:
“We became aware of an incident that occurred earlier this week that was a violation of our district’s Student Code of Conduct. We immediately notified the Richland County Sheriff’s Department of this incident and continue to cooperate fully with the investigation.
“School administrators followed district procedures and board policy in administering disciplinary consequences. The Richland County Sheriff’s Department continues to investigate the incident and as a result, it is very likely that you will be seeing a report in the media about this incident very soon.
“We appreciate and value our communication channels with parents, students and the community. Because of these lines of communication we are able to immediately investigate incidents.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.