Schools

School Officials Hold Meeting to Discuss Sexual Assault of Transgender Student

The attack happened on Monday in a campus bathroom at Hercules High School

By Bay City News —    

School district administrators held an early morning meeting today to discuss an incident at Hercules High School on Monday in which a transgender ninth-grader was attacked and sexually assaulted in a campus bathroom.

[Related article: Transgender Student Sexually Assaulted in High School Bathroom]
 
Police are investigating the attack as a hate crime, and say it occurred around 11 a.m. Monday in a boys' bathroom at the school, located at 1900 Refugio Valley Road. West Contra Costa County Unified School District board of education president Charles Ramsey called the incident a "heinous crime."
 
The victim is a 15-year-old student who identifies as male. He was attacked by three boys believed to be about 16 or 17 years old as he was leaving the bathroom, police spokeswoman Detective Connie Van Putten said.
 
The student was confronted and held in the bathroom, where he was physically and sexually assaulted, she said. Following the attack, the student reported the incident to the student health center and was taken to a hospital.

He was released from the hospital Monday night, Van Putten said. Detectives are continuing their investigation on campus today. Police have yet to identify any suspects, and it is unknown whether the attackers are students at the school, Van Putten said.
 
There are no surveillance cameras in Building 300 where the attack occurred, Ramsey said. Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call Hercules police at (510) 724-1111 or Hercules police Detective Dwayne Collard at (510) 799-8267. Top administrators, including the district's Associate Superintendent Wendell Greer, held an emergency meeting at 7:30 a.m. on campus to discuss the attack and decide how to proceed, Ramsey said.
 
Psychologists are available today on campus for students, he said. The school has been the site of previous problems, including a Nov. 13 fight involving transgender student Jewlyes Gutierrez, 16, who identifies as female.

[Related article: Bullied Transgender Teen Facing Criminal Charges Allowed to Attend Conflict Resolution]
 
Jewlyes was charged with misdemeanor battery in connection with the fight, which was caught on video. After her family put together a petition claiming that Gutierrez had been repeatedly bullied and harassed before the fight, the charges were dropped, Ramsey said.

Ramsey did not know if the 15-year-old targeted in Monday's attack had dealt with prior bullying on campus.
 
"Why is this happening now at Hercules?" Ramsey said. "It's a major problem. It's been out of control." He said the school board is already scheduled to discuss school safety at its upcoming March 12 meeting.

Ramsey said campus security has been increased in the past year, and that there are now two police officers on campus. Ramsey said that aside from security, there needs to be more dialogue in the school community to create a safer culture.
 
"Where's the tolerance?" he said. "We have to have a heightened consciousness."


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