4 indicted by grand jury in alleged Damascus High School broomstick hazing incident
DAMASCUS, Md. - (FOX 5 DC) -- The Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office announced Friday that four students charged in an alleged locker room sexual assault at Damascus High School have been indicted by a grand jury.
Jean Claude Abedi, Kristian Jamal Lee, Will Daniel Smith, Caleb Thorpe were indicted on eight counts each: one count of first-degree rape, three counts of attempted first-degree rape and four counts of conspiracy to commit rape. A fifth suspect is facing charges in juvenile court.
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Abedi, Lee, Smith and Thorpe were released on $20,000 bond each earlier this week and ordered to stay away from the alleged victims and the high school.
The prosecutor stated that all four victims are freshmen at the school.
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Arrest documents detailing the alleged incident that led to the arrests reveal gruesome allegations of beatings and violent sexual assaults.
"I am offended by the term hazing---it is not hazing--these are crimes and I would anyone to refer to this as hazing--these boys were victims of criminal acts--they were not victims of hazing they were victims of first degree rape and attempted rape these were crimes," said Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy earlier this week.