MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Snohomish County prosecutors are accusing a high school senior of sexually assaulting a freshman in a hallway at Mountlake Terrace High School.
The boy was arrested at the school in January and was immediately expelled. Deputy prosecutor Randy Yates on Tuesday charged the boy, 17, with third-degree rape, a felony.
Yates alleges that the teen engaged in sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl without her consent. Additionally, the charge alleges that the girl “clearly expressed by words or conduct” that the sexual intercourse was unwanted, court papers said.
At the time of his arrest the boy declined to provide Mountlake Terrace detectives with a statement. He is expected to be arraigned on the rape charge this month.
The Herald is not naming the boy because he is charged as juvenile. He turns 18 later this year.
The girl reported that the incident happened Jan. 7 after school.
She told police that she didn’t know the boy before winter break. The boy allegedly sent the girl a message via Facebook and invited her to a party.
She asked her parents if she could accompany the senior. They asked if there was going to be alcohol at the party. She explained that the boy who had asked her out usually supplied the alcohol.
Her parents “told her absolutely not and to stop talking to this boy,” Mountlake Terrace police Sgt. Michael Haynes wrote in a search warrant.
The girl continued to exchange text messages with the boy. He allegedly told the girl he could get in trouble for talking with a freshman. They greeted each other in the halls when they returned from break. He drove her home once after school, dropping her off about a block from her house.
The girl told detectives that the relationship became physical two days before the alleged assault. She said the boy talked to her at lunch. He said he wanted to ask her out but freshman and seniors aren’t allowed to date, and he might get in trouble, Haynes wrote.
That same day the boy found her alone by her locker after school. She told detectives they kissed. They parted ways, and the girl told her friends about the make-out session.
The girl told detectives that boy found her at lunch Jan. 7 and asked if she could hang out with him after school. She told him she had practice, and when he persisted, she made other excuses. She was worried how it would look if she told the boy that her parents didn’t want her to associate with him, court papers said. The girl said she was flattered by the older boy’s attention.
After practice she went to her locker to grab her English book. Her mother planned to pick her up by 4:15 p.m.
The boy had followed her, and they started kissing, according to court documents. She told police the kissing was consensual, and she was still willing when he grabbed her wrist and guided her out of sight of the main hallway, according to court papers. They eventually ended up in an alcove at the end of a hallway.
She told police the boy’s actions became more aggressive and invasive, and she repeatedly told him to stop and pushed his hands away, court papers said. The girl alleged that the boy pushed her to the ground and sexually assaulted her despite her efforts to kick him. She told police that the boy said, “You know you want it,” Haynes wrote in the search warrant.
The boy allegedly warned the girl not to go to police. He also suggested that they “do this again sometime,” court papers said.
The girl reported the incident to her mom and her parents called police. She was examined at the hospital. Investigators collected evidence at the high school.
Police officers arrested the boy the next morning. They also searched his house, seizing clothing for genetic testing. They also obtained a search warrant to examine the boy’s social media communication, including Facebook.
The district expelled the boy from Mountlake Terrace High School. He is being allowed to complete his remaining credits electronically, Edmonds School District spokeswoman Debbie Joyce Jakala said Friday.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.
