The SA's office considered the physical and sexual abuse on the freshman athletes as just boys being boys and decided not to make arrests despite injuries. They dropped the charges. Hazing has become a more subtle name for bullying, but that's what it is. Clay County has had two boys commit suicide after being bullied. One was a Jr. High student and his parents just buried him this week. If abuse is not punished, the behavior continues.
So shouldn’t the parents be taking this up with the State Attorney? Correct me if im wrong but it looks like the school did there due diligence and reported to the authorities.
Thank you guys for being one of the few willing to stand up and report the truth to our community! If they only knew what you’ve had to go through to even get this story written and out, they’d be thanking you endlessly. The culture of hiding and protecting these people is coming to an end. God willing.
You mean the culture of law enforcement and the SA hiding and protecting the kids that did it? The school clearly did everything they were supposed to do. It got investigated to the fullest extent of the law. Ill ask this again…what more exactly should/could of been done?
Shoving a broom handle up someone’s rectum is rape. It is NOT just boys being boys. That two students have committed suicide is worse. For the school to refer to this as merely a distraction is not doing enough. Why the State Attorney would issue arrest warrants and then not follow through demands a detailed explanation. There is something else afoot here.
I dont think anybody at the school downplayed the incident. That was the state attorney that referred to it as boys being boys. It is horrible that students at other schools have committed suicide. That has nit happened at clay in this incident. To trash the school and coach reape when they handed it over to police is ridiculous. You wanna have a problem with this….i get it…take it up with the state for downplaying it….oh wait…thede is no money in that is there? Nor is there any money in going after the kids…you know the ones responsible for alleged act….
The parents reported this to the administration and nothing happened until they went to board meetings and persevered. The school police, through the victim and athletes who witnessed this and more, identified the abusers. The school police initially called it ”horseplay” until one brave investigator took the initiative, delved into it and brought it to the SA. The SA’s office signed arrest warrants, but then dropped the case. The thought, behind the scenes in law enforcement, is that because a command officer at the CCSO has a son on the team and is a director of the Green Cove Springs Wrestling Club, the SA’s office acquiesced. I don’t know if this is true. According to the school police report, Reape was never interviewed at all about this, even though a coach, possibility Reape, came in and was witness to the abuse. WHY WAS REAPE NEVER INTERVIEWED? Nobody is going after the kids…the Green Cove Springs Wrestling Club is a corporation that was formed by adults to bypass state laws that only allow kids to practice and participate in a sport during seasons. The reason for this is so kids get an education and keep their grades up, not be consumed all year long with a sport. The wrestling club allows wrestlers to wrestle year round. Reape is a principal director of the club. Please read the school police report to get the real story. As I said before, for heinous behavior to stop and our kids be protected, those who were complicit or looked the other way must pay a price.
Your not answering me. This is a police problem not a school or wrestling club problem. Lol. Wrestling clubs are perfectly legal. Its the polices fault for not interviewing reape…stop painting the picture that its reapes fault and the clubs fault. Bad things happen unfortunately and it sucks. But your not placing the blame on who dropped the charges…you still continue to drag down coach….that’s irresponsible in my opinion. Have a nice day.
The club was created as an adjunct to the school wrestling program. Yes, even though it is a way to bypass state athletic rules, it is legal. But, the state athletic association clearly requires that athletes who participate in these clubs MUST be properly supervised at all times. The club broke the rules. They also continued to hold all practices and activities at the school even after hazing was reported. This case was NOT an isolated event. It, and other equally horrible sexual abuses, happened because the “club” provided no proper supervision and the district sat by and did not enforce their own rules and regs meant to keep our kids safe. When the hazing suit became public, the club moved off campus. You are right. The SA’s office shares responsibility and they have refused to talk about the case or provide information that is considered public record. The SA’s office is untouchable. The district and the club, who violated the requirements the state set forth, are not. Reape is the head coach, and again, a principal director of the GCSW club. Reape may be hiding in the shadows now, but he can’t hide from a deposition. I wonder. If your child had a broom handle and/or vibrator stuck up their butt, was attacked physically and sexually attacked and threatened, what would you do? I think these parents are showing a tremendous amount of restraint, because if this happened to my child…I would be in jail. Have a nice day!
What more could have been done? Didnt it go to the state attorney? What more were they expecting to happen that didn’t happen
The SA's office considered the physical and sexual abuse on the freshman athletes as just boys being boys and decided not to make arrests despite injuries. They dropped the charges. Hazing has become a more subtle name for bullying, but that's what it is. Clay County has had two boys commit suicide after being bullied. One was a Jr. High student and his parents just buried him this week. If abuse is not punished, the behavior continues.
So shouldn’t the parents be taking this up with the State Attorney? Correct me if im wrong but it looks like the school did there due diligence and reported to the authorities.
Susan Armstrong is an amazing journalist. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Thank you for having the courage to do what others wouldn’t. Love the CN&V squad!
Another important story by Susan Armstrong.
Yes, she's the best!
Thank you guys for being one of the few willing to stand up and report the truth to our community! If they only knew what you’ve had to go through to even get this story written and out, they’d be thanking you endlessly. The culture of hiding and protecting these people is coming to an end. God willing.
You mean the culture of law enforcement and the SA hiding and protecting the kids that did it? The school clearly did everything they were supposed to do. It got investigated to the fullest extent of the law. Ill ask this again…what more exactly should/could of been done?
Shoving a broom handle up someone’s rectum is rape. It is NOT just boys being boys. That two students have committed suicide is worse. For the school to refer to this as merely a distraction is not doing enough. Why the State Attorney would issue arrest warrants and then not follow through demands a detailed explanation. There is something else afoot here.
I dont think anybody at the school downplayed the incident. That was the state attorney that referred to it as boys being boys. It is horrible that students at other schools have committed suicide. That has nit happened at clay in this incident. To trash the school and coach reape when they handed it over to police is ridiculous. You wanna have a problem with this….i get it…take it up with the state for downplaying it….oh wait…thede is no money in that is there? Nor is there any money in going after the kids…you know the ones responsible for alleged act….
The parents reported this to the administration and nothing happened until they went to board meetings and persevered. The school police, through the victim and athletes who witnessed this and more, identified the abusers. The school police initially called it ”horseplay” until one brave investigator took the initiative, delved into it and brought it to the SA. The SA’s office signed arrest warrants, but then dropped the case. The thought, behind the scenes in law enforcement, is that because a command officer at the CCSO has a son on the team and is a director of the Green Cove Springs Wrestling Club, the SA’s office acquiesced. I don’t know if this is true. According to the school police report, Reape was never interviewed at all about this, even though a coach, possibility Reape, came in and was witness to the abuse. WHY WAS REAPE NEVER INTERVIEWED? Nobody is going after the kids…the Green Cove Springs Wrestling Club is a corporation that was formed by adults to bypass state laws that only allow kids to practice and participate in a sport during seasons. The reason for this is so kids get an education and keep their grades up, not be consumed all year long with a sport. The wrestling club allows wrestlers to wrestle year round. Reape is a principal director of the club. Please read the school police report to get the real story. As I said before, for heinous behavior to stop and our kids be protected, those who were complicit or looked the other way must pay a price.
Your not answering me. This is a police problem not a school or wrestling club problem. Lol. Wrestling clubs are perfectly legal. Its the polices fault for not interviewing reape…stop painting the picture that its reapes fault and the clubs fault. Bad things happen unfortunately and it sucks. But your not placing the blame on who dropped the charges…you still continue to drag down coach….that’s irresponsible in my opinion. Have a nice day.
The club was created as an adjunct to the school wrestling program. Yes, even though it is a way to bypass state athletic rules, it is legal. But, the state athletic association clearly requires that athletes who participate in these clubs MUST be properly supervised at all times. The club broke the rules. They also continued to hold all practices and activities at the school even after hazing was reported. This case was NOT an isolated event. It, and other equally horrible sexual abuses, happened because the “club” provided no proper supervision and the district sat by and did not enforce their own rules and regs meant to keep our kids safe. When the hazing suit became public, the club moved off campus. You are right. The SA’s office shares responsibility and they have refused to talk about the case or provide information that is considered public record. The SA’s office is untouchable. The district and the club, who violated the requirements the state set forth, are not. Reape is the head coach, and again, a principal director of the GCSW club. Reape may be hiding in the shadows now, but he can’t hide from a deposition. I wonder. If your child had a broom handle and/or vibrator stuck up their butt, was attacked physically and sexually attacked and threatened, what would you do? I think these parents are showing a tremendous amount of restraint, because if this happened to my child…I would be in jail. Have a nice day!