KIRKLAND, Wash. — Students from Kirkland's Juanita High School answered to attempted rape charges Friday.
Prosecutors say five students, who were members of the freshmen football team, assaulted a special needs student in a locker room.
According to charging papers, Kirkland police say that on Oct. 22, 2014, an 18-year-old special education student was lured into the shower area of a boy's locker room at Juanita High School, where he was assaulted with a broomstick.
Prosecutors say they teased him about a picture of his girlfriend and then held him down and attacked.
Court papers say the students called it a sort of hazing ritual and one of the students recorded it on his phone.
Court documents say the athletic director informed the victim's aunt, but the aunt herself was the person who alerted authorities.
The five students, four 15-year-olds and one 14-year-old, were charged with attempted rape and expelled from Juanita High School.
The coaches were placed on leave last year but were later reinstated.
Students are no longer allowed in the locker rooms without adult supervision.
Four of the five teens appeared in court Friday and were ordered to keep away from the victim. The fifth boy will appear at a later date.
One of the boy's attorneys argued to the judge the incident was football hazing and not a sexual offense.
If convicted, they could be sent to jail or a juvenile rehabilitation center.