SANPETE COUNTY, Utah — A juvenile high school student faces allegations of sexual abuse after a boy claimed he was attacked following a football practice at Gunnison Valley High School.
The Sanpete County Deputy Attorney says the boy has been charged with six counts of object rape and five counts of forcible sex abuse.
A woman who said her freshman son is a victim tells FOX13 she noticed her son was acting differently after a football practice in September. The next day, she received a call from a school resource officer after her son told him what happened the day before.
“He [her son] was embarrassed by what had happened and just wished it would all just go away,” said Misty Cox.
Her son described to the resource officer what happened when he was tackled after football practice.
“Two boys held him down, a third boy pulled his own pants down and rubbed his backside and genitalia all over my son’s face,” Cox said.
She says the abuse lasted several seconds before another boy intervened.
“My son did not consent to this. My son was held down against his will and was sexually assaulted,” Cox said. “This is not a hazing incident. This is not a bullying incident. This is not a 'boys will be boys' incident. This is a sexual assault.”
The allegations were investigated by Gunnison police and passed on to the Sanpete County attorney.
“It definitely crossed the line from hazing to sexual assault,” said Wes Mangum, the Sanpete County Deputy Attorney.
When police started investigating the claims of Cox’s son, they found other potential victims.
“It was one incident that kind of catapulted the investigation, and with that names were popping up to say, well this happened to so and so,” Mangum said.
Investigators believe there are at least nine other victims who were abused by the same boy.
Cox calls her son an inspiration for taking his story to authorities.
“For a 15-year-old boy to be brave enough to come forward at his age, I am so incredibly proud of my son to be able to stand up,” Cox said.
Two other boys involved in the incident against Cox’s son have not been arrested. They each face one count of forcible sexual abuse.
