A criminal investigation is ongoing following an incident that occurred on a bus ride home from a Glacier High freshman football game in Missoula on Sept. 12.
According to a police report filed the next day, the grandmother of a female passenger who witnessed the incident told authorities “ninth grade boys held down some of the smaller boys and molested them.”
Six freshmen students have been kicked off the team and suspended from school, one of the program’s coaches has resigned and the school district has found itself with a second incident involving a football team in as many years.
“We’ve changed the school policy, we’ve trained our coaches, we talk to kids about it, and unfortunately it still happened. That is a huge concern for me,” Kalispell Public Schools Superintendent Darlene Schottle said.
Last summer, members of the Flathead High varsity football team were disciplined following a hazing incident at a summer camp in Billings. No criminal proceedings stemmed from the incident, however the school district did update and clarify its student handbook as a result. The current handbook, which students agree to and sign, defines and warns against hazing and bullying.
“We have been addressing this, that’s why we’re coming down on this so hard. There’s no excuse for this,” Schottle said.
Administrators at Glacier High completed their investigation last week and turned over their findings to the Kalispell Police Department. Officer Jason Parce, who works at Glacier as resource officer but had no involvement in the school’s investigation, is conducting the police department’s investigation. Parce said the criminal investigation would likely be finished by week’s end.
“At this point, the allegations from the victims are sexual assault. We’re looking at the evidence and the facts and talking to everybody that was there,” Parce said on Sept. 19.
According to the website bullyingstatistics.org, one in seven students from kindergarten to 12th grade has been a victim of bullying or been in a situation of bullying.
“Trying to stop bullying is a huge issue,” Schottle said.
Administrators at Glacier agreed.
“We work on a daily basis to do all the necessary things to educate our kids and coaches. Occasionally, there will be challenges and this is one of them,” Glacier High assistant principal and activities director Mark Dennehy said. “This situation has been a bit challenging and with each we grow and learn.”