Five former Juanita High School football players have been charged with second degree attempted rape for allegedly trying to sodomize a special-needs student on Oct. 22 in the school locker room.

The five players, all freshman C-Team players on the JHS football team at the time of the incident, are accused by the King County Prosecutor’s Office of having planned to sodomize the student as part of hazing ritual known as “jubie,” according to court documents.

“Although the incident does not appear to have been sexually motivated, the charges reflect that the attack involved an attempted or threatened penetration with a broom handle while one student was restrained by several others,” wrote Dan Donohoe, spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office, in an email the the Reporter.

Of the five boys charged, four are currently 15-years-old and one is 14. Arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 20 in King County Juvenile Court.

The suspects allegedly lured the special needs student, an 18-year-old senior, into the shower area of the locker room by telling the victim that they had a picture of his girlfriend and teased him about it, the documents continue.

According to the police report, witnesses said the incident appeared to be retaliation for some horseplay earlier that afternoon involving several players, including the victim, who were throwing ice and water at each other.

When the victim entered the shower area, witnesses told police the suspects grabbed the victim and held him down. As he struggled, the suspects pulled down his pants and underwear and restrained him while one of the suspects attempted to sodomize him with a broom handle, the documents continue.

One witness told police “there was no doubt” about what the suspect intended to do with the broom and “there was no way that this was an accident and no way this wasn’t planned.”

Several witnesses also told investigators that one of the suspects was filming the incident on his cell phone.

After repeated attempts to sodomize the victim, the five suspects fled the locker room. According to the victim, the suspects let go of him when other football players who walked in told the suspects “this isn’t funny.”

The Kirkland Police Department was later contacted by the aunt of the victim, who had been informed of the incident by JHS Athletic Director Steve Juzeler. JHS head football coach Shaun Tarantola also called the victim’s home that night to apologize for the incident, according to a statement by the victim.

During the follow-up investigation, police discovered one of the suspects sent out a text to the other four prior to the attempted rape saying they were “gonna jubie” the victim. Shortly before the attempted rape another suspect said “Alright, it’s time” before heading to the shower area, according to witnesses.

Four of the students were questioned at the school by officers, and while several of the suspects initially denied involvement, one confessed to trying to sodomize the victim with the broom handle, the documents continue.

All four were arrested and then released to their parents. The fifth suspect did not show up for school the day after the incident and was later brought to the KPD by his father.

The KPD investigation concluded that “it is clear (victim’s name withheld) was lured into the shower area of the Juanita boy’s locker room to be assaulted. Further it is clear that the suspect’s intentions were to perform a hazing ritual act known as to football players as ‘jubie.'”

Donohoe added that in addition to expulsion and other consequences imposed by the school district, the individuals involved face possible sanctions ranging from a commitment to the Department of Juvenile Rehabilitation to a sentence in a local detention facility and other court ordered probationary obligations.

The school district released a statement in response to the charges, they are “committed to the safety and security of every student.”

“Existing district policies require that students are supervised at all times while at school,” the statement reads. “We have reviewed our procedures to ensure that locker rooms remain locked if no adult is present to supervise. Signs have been posted informing students they are not to be in the locker room without adult supervision. The school security officer is also checking locker rooms frequently. Districtwide, the coach training program is being revised to ensure that locker room supervision expectations are very clear. “

Emails obtained by the Reporter through a public information request reveal more about the incident and the immediate fallout between parents, students and the administration.

Following the incident, the victim’s family filed a temporary sexual assault protection order against one of the suspects, which was later approved, reissued and extended. The protection order prohibits the respondent from coming within 500 feet of the victim’s house or school.

The school district’s statement also said the five suspects no longer attend JHS. The Reporter has confirmed that at least one of the suspects is currently attending a different high school in the Lake Washington School District (LWSD).

Emails from parents state that the victim later went on to send out messages on Twitter about getting revenge. The tweets concerned the parents in wake of the Marysville-Pilchuck High School shooting, which took place just two days after the incident at Juanita High School.

The emails also reveal that Juanita High School varsity coaches were in a portable reviewing game film with varsity players on Oct. 22 at the time of the assault in the locker room.

Tarantola was driving home when he received a call from assistant varsity coach Lele Te’o about the alleged assault involving four C-Team players earlier that afternoon, according to a statement he made to Principal Gary Moed via email. At this point, he wrote, he alerted C-Team coach Chris Nelson about the incident and immediately decided that any of the players involved would not be allowed to play in the game that night.

Many of the complaints surrounding the incident stem from the fact that the students were in the locker room unsupervised, something which Tarantola said they try to avoid but is difficult due to the number of sports teams who use the facility simultaneously.

“Our coaches do our best to clear the locker rooms at the beginning and end of each practice,” he wrote to Moed. “There are times when students are arriving late or leaving early and are let into the locker room to change into their football gear. Outside of that we make sure that we are the last ones out and first one into locker room. The locker room is used by a number of different sports and groups throughout the year as well.”

Tarantola added that “We have found that we need to find a better way to make sure that all doors are locked at all times and that no students are left unattended in locker rooms.”

He also wrote to one individual that it is not realistic to expect coaches to supervise what goes on in the locker room at all times because they lack the resources.

“Too many people access it,” he wrote. “…it is the impossible task that every coach and PE teacher is at fault for over the course of a year.”

Tarantola also defended the actions he took after learning of the incident.

“I did everything right on the money from the time I found out to all the phone calls I made last night to the right people, to how I handled myself and the situation today,” he wrote on Oct. 23.

Both Tarantola and Te’o were placed on leave in early November while a district investigation into the incident took place. They were later reinstated in December. Tarantola is a health and physical education teacher at the high school, while Te’o is the athletic director at Kamiakin Middle School and works security for the school.

The emails also reveal the ambiguity and confusion over what happened as a result of district’s inability to communicate with the public due to federal laws, which specifically had a detrimental effect on the football team after Lele Te’o was put on paid leave. In an email to Moed, Tarantola expressed his frustration with not being allowed to explain to the players why Te’o was gone when they asked about where he was and that this was having a detrimental effect on their morale.

“They are texting Lele and he is not responding which is adding to their concerns,” Tarantola wrote to Moed in a Nov. 5 email. “I think the players have no idea… and they are truly concerned for his safety.”

Prior to Moed’s statement to high school parents about the sexual assault that same week, he received a number of emails from parents and alumni expressing outrage at the suspects’ behavior, criticism of the school’s perceived handling of the incident, as well as moral support for the coaches and school staff. One person emailed Moed the day after the incident inquiring about what had happened, saying “this is hitting us hard in the Juanita neighborhood. Lots of rumors with all the kids talking. We need something from you. Arrest, sexual abuse, nudity, planned attack – that’s what came home from school today. It’s extremely upsetting.”

One parent, with a daughter attending JHS, wrote “We really know very little and most has been what we’ve picked up from our kids. What we did hear though, was very difficult to listen to… Kids are supposed to feel safe at school. Something has gone terribly wrong.”

She added, “We know that you have a lot to deal with right now, but we want you to know that we support your efforts at ensuring Juanita High School is a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment for students.”

Other emails blamed the football team’s culture of arrogance for the attack.

After Moed released a statement to parents, one of them stated in an Oct. 25 email that the general wording of the letter unwittingly downplayed the severity of what had happened.

“To me there is a huge difference between ‘assault,’ which could fall under all kinds of actions, kids getting in fights, ect.,” he wrote. “But to come home and have my sons tell me a much more grave story involving multiple young males video taping the sexual assault of a mentally challenged student is very disturbing… How much more important is it that we parents have the facts straight. This incident certainly is upsetting, but it was very upsetting to me to think I was informed about a school yard fight and to find my sons talking about something far more violent and grievous. I think the school should lay out the problem so we parents know what happened and can be mentally prepared ahead of time to talk to our kids.”

The lack of communication between school officials and the student body was also criticized by a current JHS student, who said the silence surrounding the assault makes her ashamed to be a Rebel.

“These crimes were committed against a fellow student, and the fact that the student body is not being talked to about this is ridiculous,” she wrote. “Being silent about this is giving these criminals less of a chance to be known for what they did. The fact that this happened to an innocent student and the school is remaining silent deeply upsets me.”

A special needs teacher at the school also emailed administration officials to tell them that her students were angered by the incident.

LWSD officials, however, have stated that they are not able to discuss most of the details about the investigation or any information about the students involved due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law regarding student privacy, which prohibits them from releasing information about students.