Sex arrest
acknowledged on
Kamehameha
campus
Kamehameha Schools officials acknowledged last night that one of their high school students was arrested yesterday for allegedly sexually assaulting another student on campus.
This is the third allegation of sexual misconduct by Kamehameha students in the last week.
"We are deeply disturbed by the suggestion of widespread sexual misconduct on campus," said a Kamehameha press release issued last night. "The kinds of behavior that have been alleged in the last week are not condoned and are not tolerated at Kamehameha Schools."
Honolulu police reported yesterday that they arrested a 15-year-old male for allegedly raping a 14-year-old female classmate over eight months. According to police, the victim said the assaults took place during school hours and on campus.
The juvenile suspect was arrested on two counts of first-degree sexual assault and one count of third-degree sexual assault. He has been released pending investigation.
Though police identified the campus only as a "Honolulu-area high school," Kamehameha School officials confirmed the arrest of one of their students last night.
The press release also stated that yesterday's arrest was a "police matter," and therefore it is "inappropriate for us to comment while the investigation is under way."
Last week, reports surfaced that six varsity football players were suspended after some of the boys allegedly videotaped a sexual encounter with a female student.
And on Tuesday, a former Kamehameha student sued the school, alleging that she was sexually assaulted by a fellow student while at Kamehameha.
The female student alleges she was forced to leave the school in her sophomore year because campus officials would not expel her alleged assailant, a football player.
A school spokesman said that yesterday's arrest is not related to the two earlier cases.
In its press release last night, school officials reiterated that they believe the lawsuit "contained many untruths and is a deliberate attempt to capitalize on the allegations that came to light last week."
In response to the alleged videotaping incident, schools officials said that when they first heard about it, they "immediately began a review of the allegations" and found that there were "a number of students involved, and there were different versions of what actually occurred."
"Our investigation lasted a week and will result in disciplinary action," the press release said. "We are in the process of assembling a team of experts to help us review our sexual harassment policies and identify additional actions we can take to encourage and influence healthy, appropriate, respectful attitudes, relationships and behaviors."
