Autistic high schooler allegedly sexually assaulted by three classmates in bathroom

UPDATE

Police have released a statement:

“The Coppell Police Department was made aware of an incident that occurred earlier that day at Coppell High School. We further were made aware of a claim on social media that went viral. Our department has conducted an extensive investigation which included interviews with the parties involved. Based on those interviews with all parties and other evidence that was reviewed it was determined that the incident in question did not meet the criteria for criminal charges. The student and his parent were interviewed on Friday May 26 2017 and understood that no criminal offense occurred based on the facts presented.”

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A high schooler with Asperger’s Syndrome was allegedly sexually assaulted in a bathroom by three of his classmates.

An 18-year-old set to graduate from Coppell High School in Texas this week was reportedly coerced into pulling down his pants, “sexually manipulated,” and then had photos and videos of him circulated on Snapchat and Twitter.

The school district is now investigating an alleged assault after a cousin of the student posted a viral status about it.

Nathalie Escudero, who says she is a relative of the 18-year-old, posted:

“I just found out my cousin was sexually assaulted yesterday (Friday, May 26th) in the bathroom of his school by three of his classmates. They cornered him in the bathroom. Two of the boys threatened to beat up my cousin and coerced him to pull down his pants. The other boy guarded the bathroom door to make sure no one else could enter while they sexually manipulated him. They snapped a picture of his privates and humiliated him by sharing the picture on Twitter and Snapchat. Everyone in the school saw the picture.

“My cousin’s parents filed a police report and contacted school officials to report this incident. However, no one in the school wants to take action. They’re covering it up since those three boys are set to graduate next week and the school doesn’t want to deal with it.

“…My cousin was scared for his life. People have taken advantage of his innocence and social awkwardness before, but this is the epitome of humiliation.”

She then names the three students accused of assaulting her cousin.

A Snapchat video, seen by The Tab, is circulating of the incident. It is too short to discern what is happening – but it is captioned: “[Redacted] made [redacted] do it. Man pulled his dick out.”

We have contacted the students named in Nathalie’s post – one of them simply responded: “[The student’s mother] is falsely accusing us for something we didn’t do.”

Amid claims Coppell High School isn’t doing enough over the incident, Kalyn Green, a student of Coppell High School, is helping to organize a protest.

“We will not stand for injustice and abuse,” she said. “At the end of every email ever addressed by Coppell High School it has been punctuated with ‘Each of Us Strengthens All of Us’. It seems like a cliche school rhetoric, and has never caught my eye. However, with the abuse of one of our students at Coppell High School, it has come to my attention.

“I’m not sure what actions the administration attempts to take over the hellish events conducted by those three senior students, however as of now it’s unclear and we must play our part.

“On Wednesday, May 31, at the start of 8:00 am we shall protest for actions to take place. In front of the main entrance of the school, we will make our voices be heard…. We won’t stand for these acts of cruelty.”

In a statement, Coppell’s local school board said:

“Coppell ISD has been made aware of a social media post circulating the district about an alleged incident on the Coppell High School campus. We would like to take this opportunity to assure our community that any and all allegations of sexual abuse/ assault are taken seriously and investigations by Coppell ISD and the Coppell Police Department are being conducted in accordance to Board policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Our number one priority is to provide a safe learning environment for all Coppell ISD students.”

More to follow.