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GUNNISON — More potential victims have stepped forward claiming they were hazed or abused by a 16-year-old Gunnison Valley High School sophomore.
On Sept. 28, the boy, whom KSL has opted not to name at this time, was charged in Sanpete County's 6th District Juvenile Court with six counts of object rape, a first-degree felony, and five counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.
According to prosecutors, the teen is accused of assaulting up to 10 other boys at the school.
Deputy county attorney Wesley Mangum, the lead prosecutor in the case, said a particular incident caught the eye of investigators that could be described as "hazing or horseplay that crossed the line by quite a ways."
"This clearly crossed the line into sexual assault," said Sanpete County Attorney Kevin Daniels.
As the Sanpete County Sheriff's Office and the school began investigating that incident, they learned of other alleged incidents. The defendant is involved in athletics at the school as are some of the victims, according to prosecutors.
Amended charging documents filed Wednesday in juvenile court list the dates of some of the alleged assaults now as Sept. 17; June 26; March 20; Jan. 9; Jan. 8; Dec. 4, 2017; Nov. 1, 2017; and Oct. 2, 2017.
Since the charges were reported by the media earlier this week, Mangum said Friday that the number of alleged victims had risen to between 12 and 15. Those people who have forward are being interviewed and additional charges are possible, he said.
Police in Hurricane, Washington County, were also investigating an incident in their city involving the teen, according to prosecutors.
