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High school student charged with rape

by KAYE THORNBRUGH
Staff Writer | May 18, 2021 1:00 AM

COEUR d’ALENE — A Lake City High School student is facing felony charges after police say he raped and beat a former girlfriend multiple times.

The student, 16, is charged with rape, attempted strangulation and aggravated assault, all felonies. He is also charged with battery, a misdemeanor.

The suspect’s name has not been released because he is a minor.

Another Lake City High School student contacted Coeur d’Alene police in late April to report what she described as more than a year of daily abuse at the hands of her former boyfriend.

She told police the suspect had raped her at least 10 times between February 2020 and January 2021. She said the pair had never had a consensual sexual encounter.

He allegedly told her, “If you would just do it, I wouldn’t have to beat you.”

The teen girl told police her former boyfriend frequently beat her and once did so in the Lake City High School parking lot. He had choked her to unconsciousness more than once, she said.

She described an incident where the suspect allegedly chased her with a wooden baseball bat. She said she feared for her life.

Several of the alleged assaults occurred at the suspect’s residence, she said, while his parents were home.

The suspect tracked the teen girl’s location at all times using her cellphone, she said, told her what she was allowed to wear, isolated her from her friends and exhibited other controlling behavior.

She told police he repeatedly threatened to kill her or himself if she left him.

Police said multiple video and audio recordings depicting the abuse had circulated in the student population, including a video taken by another student that allegedly showed the suspect hitting his former girlfriend in a public place.

Multiple students reportedly told police the suspect had admitted to raping and beating the girl, according to court documents.

Investigators conducted interviews with the accuser, her family and others before bringing charges against the suspect.

Charges were filed May 11.

Juveniles between the ages of 14 and 18 who are alleged to have committed any of the offenses listed in Idaho State Code 20-509, including rape, are automatically charged as adults.

A judge issued a warrant for the suspect’s arrest May 12. He was taken into custody and posted a $50,000 cash bond the same day, according to court documents.

Judge Timothy Van Valin issued a no contact order May 13 that forbids the suspect from contacting any minor who is not related to him.

He has reportedly not been present on campus since the order was put in place.

The suspect has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or sexual abuse, call Safe Passage Violence Prevention Center’s 24-hour hotline: 208-664-9303.