From David Richie:
A reported sexual assault in a Sheldon High School restroom and two other recent on-campus episodes were "isolated incidents" and safety at the school is still strong, law enforcement and school district officials said this week.
The most serious incident occurred about 11 a.m. Oct. 2 when a 15-year-old boy reportedly forced a 15-year-old girl into a restroom stall and sexually assaulted her. An incident summary released recently by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department indicates that the girl tried to fight back and told the boy several times to stop what he was doing.
Eventually the boy departed and school officials found the girl during a routine bathroom check, said Elizabeth Graswich, spokeswoman for the Elk Grove Unified School District. Sheriff's investigators were called in and the boy was arrested later that day. A letter was sent home with all students informing parents about the incident, Graswich said.
The boy acted alone and did not present a danger to the rest of the student body, Sgt. Tim Curran, spokesman for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, said Tuesday.
"The girl was targeted. They were former girlfriend and boyfriend, so it was not a random incident," Curran said.
Curran and Graswich did not know if the boy was still in juvenile hall or if he had been released to his parents.
Graswich described an incident about 9:35 a.m. Oct. 1 as a fight between two groups of boys.
The sheriff's description of the incident indicates that three 17-year-olds and one 16-year-old attacked two other boys of similar age and at least one of the four was armed. All four were arrested and booked on multiple charges including suspicion of battery, conspiracy and participation in a criminal street gang. All the individuals involved were Vietnamese.
The weapon was a belt buckle. The two boys suffered cuts and refused medical attention, Graswich said.
The third incident, about 10:20 a.m. Sept. 30 involved a 15-year-old boy who reportedly brought a folding knife to school. Another student spotted the weapon and informed school officials. A vice principal started looking for the boy with the knife and during the course of that investigation, he was threatened by another boy, age 16. Both boys were eventually taken into custody.
No letters were sent home informing parents about the Oct. 1 and Sept. 30 occurrences.
"Realize that all three of these were isolated incidents," Graswich said.
The school district contracts with the Sheriff's Department for a deputy who serves as a school resource officer at Sheldon High School. That relationship also gives the district access to other sheriff's services when they are needed.
The district also employs school monitors at Sheldon High, and the principal walks around the school regularly. Officials do not see any need to further tighten campus control measures.
"Security is already fairly high," Graswich said.
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