3 charged after rapes were reported at youth gathering

Saturday, August 2, 2003

3 charged after rapes were reported at youth gathering
1 victim says adult supervisor warned girls about group of boys

By HECTOR CASTRO
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

At least one adult supervising a group of high school students attending a church youth conference in Issaquah warned a group of girls to be careful around three older boys who are now charged with raping them.

King County prosecutors yesterday charged the three boys, two of them 16 and the third 17, with second-degree rape. The 17-year-old faces two counts of rape because prosecutors charge that he raped one of the girls twice.

The reported rapes took place early Monday at Trinity Lutheran College in Issaquah. Two of the girls are cousins, and the third is a friend.

The girls, all from Alaska, told detectives that they met the youths during the conference and that the boys were immediately sexually aggressive with them, the oldest grabbing one girl and kissing her upon their first meeting.

At some point late Sunday, the boys invited the girls to their dorm room to talk. According to documents filed yesterday, one girl said, "An adult supervisor told her to be careful because the boys were older and that (the girls) did not know them."

Organizers have reportedly said that boys and girls were not supposed to go into each other's rooms. Calls to the school were referred to a spokesman with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but he could not be reached for comment.

Once in their room, according to documents, the three boys raped the girls. The girls initially did not report the attack for fear of humiliation.

But one girl reported that later Monday, she was raped a second time by one of the boys.

The attacks were finally reported to Issaquah police just before 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, and the three boys were arrested later that morning.

According to court documents, one boy admitted to the sex, saying that it was consensual and that he stopped when the girl asked him to. A second boy, the 17-year-old, also said the sex was consensual. But according to prosecutors, he admitted raping the girl during their second sexual encounter and said he saw the third boy raping one of the girls. That boy gave no statement and reportedly asked for an attorney upon his arrest.

All three are being held at the King County Juvenile Detention Facility in Seattle.

More headlines and info from Issaquah.