Five McNary High School freshmen football players were taken into custody Thursday afternoon on criminal charges.
The arrests come after a two-week long investigation into the physical harassment and assault against fellow freshmen football players.
According to the Keizer Police Department, the crimes occured between August and October inside the boy’s locker room at McNary High School. One student was the victim of not only harassment but fourth degree assault.
All five students arrested are Keizer residents. Four of them are 14 years old, one is 15. They were processed at the Keizer Police Department and transported to the Marion County Juvenile Department and released to intake staff.
McNary principal Scott Gragg sent a letter to McNary families informing them of today’s update:
Dear McNary High School Families,
I want you to know that honesty and openness are important to me, and that’s why I wanted to be sure and update you on a situation impacting our school community.
A couple of weeks ago, I sent a letter to you about our school investigating allegations of serious student-athlete misconduct involving our school’s freshman football team.
We have worked with law enforcement in thoroughly investigating the allegations. As a result, five students have been taken into custody by law enforcement and will be facing charges.
We must respect the privacy of those involved and cannot share details involving the investigation or any student disciplinary action.
What I can tell you is that the safety and well-being of our students is always our top priority.
As you know, we take great pride in our student experience to ensure that McNary is a place where all of our students, staff and families belong. We have high expectations for our students and upholding those expectations is part of what makes our school community stronger together.
As a reminder, anyone can make a report regarding safety concerns to our administrative team and also through SafeOregon. You can report a tip through SafeOregon by calling or sending a text to 844-472-3367 anytime. Tips also can be emailed to [email protected] or through the SafeOregon app.
I want to thank you for your understanding, cooperation and support as we have walked through this process.
Scott Gragg, Principal
McNary High School