A California high school has cancelled the remainder of its varsity football schedule for the year after one of its players accused four teammates of a sexual assault, and police “determined there was evidence to support a criminal complaint,” the Mercury News reported.
The Gilroy Unified School District had said Monday, when the incident was first publicly acknowledged, that it hoped the season could go on, but on Wednesday, after a majority of the team quit, the cancelled season was announced.
The Gilroy Police Department said it began an investigation into the allegations on September 26 and that the four students involved have been issued juvenile citations for sexual battery. Investigators have submitted their preliminary findings to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, which will determine if the students will be prosecuted, said Capt Joseph Deras.
The team’s scheduled game took place on September 27, but without five players police said were involved in the investigation, according to NBC Bay Area. The station reported that the alleged assault took place after practice last week and that the victim reported it to school administrators, who called police.
School and district officials said the four accused students had already been suspended when they were arrested, issued the juvenile citations, and released to their parents. The details of the incident and the students names are being withheld because everyone involved is a minor.
About the alleged assault, police have said that there is “no evidence at this time that this was a hate-motivated crime.”
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
