EVERETT — Prosecutors say two girls were raped at a juvenile drinking party over the summer, and now four teenagers are charged with felony sex crimes.
A boy, 17, is accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl while the two were in the back of his pickup truck. A second girl, 16, was assaulted by three other teenage party-goers, according to court documents. Prosecutors allege that the defendants had sex with girls who were incapable of providing consent because they were too drunk.
Investigators recovered a photograph of one of the girls, and she appears passed out. They also heard that a suspect uploaded a video of one of the girls to a social media website.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Laura Twitchell recently charged the teens with indecent liberties, accusing the boys of having sexual contact with the girls. The charging documents, however, allege that the suspects engaged in sexual intercourse and committed the more serious crime of second-degree rape.
The teens have pleaded not guilty. They were released on personal recognizance. The Herald is not naming them because they are charged as juveniles. Hearings are scheduled later this year to determine if the cases will remain in juvenile court.
“Under the statute, a hearing is mandatory because of their ages and the crime they’re charged with committing,” Twitchell said.
She declined to say whether her office will pursue moving the cases to adult court.
The Snohomish County sheriff’s office investigated the incidents. Deputies were called around 1 a.m. July 19. They received a report that a teenage girl had been sexually assaulted at a house party. While still on the scene gathering information about that case, they learned of another girl who reportedly had been sexually assaulted at the same party.
Prosecutors requested that The Herald not publish where the party happened in an effort to protect the identities of the girls.
Witnesses later told police that a boy, 17, approached people at a bonfire, telling them he had sex with a girl who was passed out in his pickup truck. One witness reported that the boy said he didn’t think the girl was OK, Twitchell wrote.
Deputies were told that the girl had been extremely intoxicated and unable to make decisions. Investigators recovered a picture someone had taken of the girl. She appeared to be passed out in the back of a pickup truck.
Detectives interviewed the boy, who allegedly said he didn’t notice the girl was passed out until after he had sex with her. He reportedly said he was scared, so he asked people at the party for help, Twitchell wrote.
The girl later spoke with investigators, saying she had been drinking vodka and smoking marijuana at the party before she passed out. She said the boy is an acquaintance and she didn’t consent to sex.
Meanwhile, witnesses told police that a 16-year-old girl was raped by three boys while they were in a tree house. The witnesses reported seeing the boys with the unclothed girl. Other witnesses told police the boys bragged about having sexual intercourse with her.
Witnesses told police that the girl was incoherent, unable to dress herself or stand up. She had to be carried down from the tree and driven to a hospital.
The girl was unable to undergo a sexual exam for several hours because she was unresponsive, Twitchell wrote. Tests showed she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.267 — more than three times the legal limit to drive a car.
Deputies heard from a witness who said one of the boys uploaded a video to Snapchat showing the girl and the suspects. The girl reportedly appeared passed out. Snapchat allows users to share photos, videos and other files with people of their choice, but only briefly before the information is automatically deleted.
Another witness said she found a picture of the unclothed girl on one of the suspect’s phones. She told deputies she deleted it.
Court papers are silent on what steps, if any, investigators have taken trying to recover those files.
Detectives interviewed the three boys. One was 16 and two were 17 at the time. All three allegedly admitted that they had some form of sexual contact with the girl, the prosecutor wrote. Their descriptions about what happened in the tree house differed. One suspect reportedly told police he didn’t think the girl knew what she was doing, Twitchell wrote. He explained that she had consumed “like a whole bottle of Smirnoff” vodka.
One boy reportedly admitted that he took photographs of the girl while they were in the tree house.
The girl later told detectives that she didn’t remember being assaulted. She said she didn’t consent to the sexual activity.
The suspects don’t live at the party location. Police say the homeowners were not present. They are not expected to face any criminal charges. There wasn’t any information that they furnished juveniles with alcohol or knew about the party, sheriff’s spokeswoman Shari Ireton said.
In both cases, the defendants were ordered not to have any contact with the girls. It is unclear if the girls attend the same schools as the suspects.
A judge ordered that the three suspects in the second case not to have direct contact with each other. Two of the boys attend the same school and are allowed “incidental” contact because they are in some of the same classes.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.
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