http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/may/08/081951/deputies-walker-middle-school-boy-raped-4-teens/news-breaking/

TAMPA - Four teen boys at a middle school in Hillsborough County's Odessa section have been charged with sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy.

Hillsborough sheriff's deputies say the four boys, ranging from 14 to 15, assaulted a classmate at Walker Middle School on April 30 using a broomstick and hockey stick. The arrests were made Wednesday.

Deputies say two of the teens held down the boy in a locker room at the school while two others assaulted him.

All five teens were members of the school's flag football team, according to Hillsborough School District spokesman Steve Hegarty. They were in the locker room because of an interscholastic flag football team practice, district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said.

Charged with false imprisonment and sexual assault are: Randall John Moye, 14; Raymond A. Price-Murray, 14; Lee Louis Myers, 14; and Diemante J. Roberts, 15.

Deputies say the boy was continually harassed by his four classmates for nearly two months before the assault.

The students have been taken out of school, Hegarty said. No permanent decision about their future with the system has been yet made, he said.

Team has 1 coach

Initially, officials were investigating a bullying incident that took place Tuesday, Hegarty said. Then the football coach questioned the students.

"Wednesday morning, we brought the kids in and talked to them individually about what happened," Hegarty said. "As soon as the details came out, we got the school resource deputies involved."

At the point, Hegarty said, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office was notified.

"We had deputies at the school throughout the day," he said.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is refusing comment.

Carrie Caliendo, whose son plays linebacker for the team but wasn't involved in the incident, said an assistant principal told her there will be no more football games this season.

She said she was upset after learning of the attack.

"It's very sad, and it's shameful for them that they even thought and took the process of doing such a thing," she said.

Fallon Sweeting, 23, whose brother is on the team, said he didn't tell her many details about the incident but "I think it's awful. I think it's wrong. I think it's really horrible that kids are doing that to other kids."

The team only has one coach, but the district isn't sure how many people were actually supervising the players, Cobbe said.

While the district doesn't have policies requiring supervision of students in locker rooms, there is an expectation of supervision when it comes to students at school, she said.

"There could be any number of circumstances related to this that none of us knows," she said. "That's why it's under investigation."

The school's parents were notified Thursday by phone, Hegarty said. The recorded message described it as "an incident involving another student" and said the students involved would not return to Walker "unless their legal issues are resolved."

'Where is the supervision?'

Walker Middle parent Henry Johnson heard from his 12-year-old son that something had happened at the school.

"I'm shocked," he said. "I would have never guessed this would have happened at Walker. I like this school. This is a great school."

Melissa Dorden, who has two daughters attending Walker, got the automated message from the district about the incident. She felt the school did a good job communicating the incident but thinks the school needs to do more about bullying and supervision

"I just can't believe something like this would happen at the school," she said. "Where is the supervision?"

Board member Jack Lamb, who represents the area that includes Walker Middle, said today he heard about the incident from district officials, but didn't know about the details of the assault.

Board member April Griffin also said she wanted to learn more before commenting, but she did hear about the assault from Superintendent MaryEllen Elia. Griffin said she wanted a thorough investigation of what happened.

"I'd like to know more about the bullying situation and find out how long that was taking place," Griffin said.

Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi said today that the four teens will be tried in adult court.

A person who answered Price-Murray's mother's phone said she was unavailable.

A woman answering the phone of Myers' parents said to "Call my attorney" and hung up on a reporter.