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E-mail StoryAssault alleged at party
BHS teens pulled from sports over suspected drinking
| Tuesday, May 29 2007 9:05 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 29 2007 9:08 PM
Police are investigating allegations that a girl who attended an after-prom party earlier this month was sexually assaulted.
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The party followed Bakersfield High's prom.
Some BHS students have also been pulled from sports and other activities after allegedly drinking and/or smoking at an after-prom party, which students said was held at a student's home.
Police questioned as many as 40 BHS students after the party, said district spokesman John Teves. Bakersfield police Detective Greg Terry said Tuesday he couldn't say whether police had any suspects in the alleged sexual assault because the investigation is ongoing. No arrests had been made as of Tuesday in connection with the incident, which police responded to on May 13, Terry said.
BHS's prom was May 12.
Teves said a dozen or more students could be temporarily pulled from sports and activities once the district sorts through all the details. No students were suspended because the party was private, Teves said.
"The school doesn't have the ability to discipline them," Teves said.
Student athletes, however, are bound by California Interscholastic Federation and district rules that say they cannot smoke or drink, even outside of school, Teves said.
At BHS on Tuesday, some students said they had heard of the party while others had not. Some said they had already been questioned by police and couldn't talk about it further.
BHS senior Lourin Smith said some of his friends called him to pick them up from the party late that night.
"When I got there you couldn't even tell who was sober enough to talk to," Smith said. "There was a fight that had broken out."
Smith said students don't normally hold such parties.
"I guess that was just a prom thing," he said.
Other students said they were upset their teammates were pulled from some sports teams so late in the year.
Student athletes must sign California Interscholastic Federation and district documents agreeing to refrain from alcohol and tobacco use, Teves said. The punishment for breaking that rule for the first time is nine weeks away from sports and certain other activities. The length of the punishment increases for repeat offenders, Teves said.
First-time offenders can reduce the time to six weeks if they take the district's anti-alcohol class, Teves said.
Because there are only a few days of school left, some students will finish the six to nine weeks in the late summer or fall, Teves said. Winter and spring sports will not be affected, Teves said.