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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Reprobait" data-source="post: 203922" data-attributes="member: 777">From the Fargo Forum:0002:00 COLFAX, N.D. — Disturbing details of sodomy and sexual assault dating back to 2015 in the Richland 44 School District are described in an independent report that says school leaders failed to sufficiently respond to allegations of student hazing and sexual misconduct. The district hired a Minneapolis law firm, Langevin Lentz, to investigate the matter and compile the findings in a report, which The Forum obtained Friday, April 6, through a public records request. In the 46-page report, superintendent Tim Godfrey, high school principal Bruce Anderson and athletic director John Freeman — whose departures from the district were announced this week — claim to have not known before Jan. 17 that variations of something called the "rape game" had been occurring for years. It was on Jan. 17 that two parents confronted Godfrey about the "rape game," one stating that their child came home with "holes in his underwear." The report also says at least two incidents of sexual misconduct were reported to Anderson and a coach but were not investigated. Attempts to reach Godfrey, Anderson and Freeman by phone Friday were  unsuccessful. Godfrey will resign and Anderson will retire at the end of  the school year. Freeman is no longer with the district, and the terms  of his departure have not been disclosed The report says hazing and sexual misconduct took place in locker  rooms, on field trips and during physical education class and musical  rehearsals. The report also says district policies on hazing and  bullying are not accessible or easily understood and that staff training  on these policies is insufficient. The law firm's review focused  on events before Jan. 24, the date when news media began reporting on  the misconduct investigation led by the Richland County Sheriff's  Office. The investigation resulted in five male students collectively facing  13 misdemeanor counts of hazing, 11 misdemeanor counts of sexual  assault, nine felony counts of felonious restraint and one felony count  of terrorizing. The boys charged were referred to juvenile court. All of  the victims were male, authorities said. In addition to law  enforcement investigating the allegations, Langevin Lentz conducted 56  interviews with school board members, administrators, teachers, coaches  and parents. "Some commented that 'boys will be boys'.... And  others commented that 'this kind of stuff' is common and 'happens all  over the country,'" the report states. "But no one we spoke to said or  suggested that physical restraint, sexual assault, or unwanted touching  is acceptable." One student athlete considered transferring schools after he reported  last spring being held down by his teammates who then stuck their  fingers in his butt. The student's parent shared this with an assistant  coach who didn't raise the issue with the athletic director, principal  or superintendent, according to the report. Another student  reported "screaming" when being "trapped, chased and caught and  assaulted" by other students on multiple occasions during fall 2017  musical rehearsals. Two parents reported that their children were  restrained and poked in the butt through their clothes while staying in a  hotel room during a field trip this school year. One instance involved  using a toothbrush, according to the report. A parent reported to  Anderson in fall 2017 concerns about inappropriate locker room behavior  involving male middle school students after physical education class.  The parent said students were poking each other in the butt. Anderson  spoke with the teacher and students, but the report says the school  should have investigated further. 'Knock this off' One  assistant coach told the law firm that several years ago when he was a  student athlete at Richland 44, another student athlete began something  called "the rape game." Descriptions of this so-called "game"  vary, but involve turning off the lights, typically in a locker room,  running around and trying to stick fingers up others' butts or poking  them in the butt through clothes with fingers or objects. Others described the "rape game" as sexual assault, sodomy or sexual  harassment. The report says "there is not a consistent understanding of  what the 'rape game' is, what behavior occurred or even what behavior  has been reported." But variations of the "rape game" have been occuring  at the school since the 2015-2016 school year. On Jan. 18, the  day after two parents confronted Godfrey about the "rape game," Godfrey,  Anderson and Freeman met with male student athletes. Godfrey said in  the meeting that such conduct could be sexual harassment and that it was  unacceptable. Godfrey recalls Freeman saying, "I told you to knock this  off," and Anderson said Godfrey told the boys "we've been through this  before." Freeman told the boys if the behavior continued,  "offenders would be unable to play basketball for the rest of the  season," the report states. The report says it is undisputed that  parents were not informed of the Jan. 18 meeting. Several parents  demanded a meeting with Godfrey on Jan. 19, when there was a basketball  game scheduled later that evening. Godfrey, Anderson and Freeman met  with parents to talk about the "rape game." Godfrey told parents law  enforcement was getting involved and that he didn't know the extent of  the problem. "Some of the parents at the meeting were very  emotional and expressed anger at the alleged perpetrators and at school  officials. One parent said if he found out that someone had done this to  his child, he ... was willing to 'go to jail.'" According to the  report, Godfrey said there would be supervision in the locker rooms to  address the situation. However, at the Jan. 19 game, junior varsity  players were in the locker room unsupervised, the report states. "A number of parents reported their deep disappointment at the  failure of the superintendent, principal, athletic director and coaches  to provide locker room supervision that the parents believed they have  been promised," the report states. Community impact The  law firm's report noted that the lack of supervision and security in  locker rooms as well as clear communication between the district and  parents "greatly affected everyone involved and significantly impacted  the community." Lack of communication was the result of several  factors, including some teachers' and parents' pre-existing lack of  confidence in Godfrey, students' reluctance to talk about sensitive  matters and intense emotional reactions from all concerned, according to  the report. The report says district business is regularly  conducted on personal electronic devices and personal social media  accounts, which the law firm says is not best practice. The app GroupMe  was used for communication between coaches and players and was a source  of concern for many parents. At some point after parents  complained Jan. 17, Godfrey instructed Freeman to "shut down" or  "delete" the app, and Freeman's attempts to do so resulted in deleting  all prior posts, the report says. The lack of evidence was an issue  during the independent review, but parents did provide the law firm with  screenshots of some communication revealing sexual references and  hazing. An exchange on the app with sexual or hazing references was seen by  at least one coach and the athletic director who allegedly "did not  object or attempt to control student communication on the app," the  report states. On Friday, School Board President Lisa Amundson  told The Forum the board is very concerned about the contents of the  report and will continue to review and address the issues. "Throughout  this report there are indicators that suggest our entire Richland 44  community must take a collective look at the culture in our  junior/senior high school," Amundson wrote in a letter. "Our children  are watching and waiting for us to set the example and show them the way  forward from these past few months. We do not intend to let them down." </blockquote>

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