CORAL SANDS, Iowa—Four arrests rocked the south-central Iowa town of Coral Sands yesterday. Charges filed with the county sheriff’s office allege that a 17-year-old high school junior was raped during a party held at the home of Coral Sands Buccaneers star John Doone, 18.
Doone and teammate Deacon Mills, also 18, have been formally charged with one count each of sexual assault, and one count rape. Doone is also charged with one count of distributing child pornography. Pictures and videos taken before and during the alleged incident, as well as during the arrest of the players, were widely circulated among partygoers and other students via social media. Under Iowa statute, any distribution of images featuring a minor in a state of undress or participating in sexual activity is considered child pornography, regardless of the age of those distributing.
Two other students taken into custody are also members of the top-ranked high school basketball team, but their names have not yet been released as both are minors.
Coral Sands principal Wendall Hargrove said late Tuesday night that he and the school’s administration take the allegations very seriously. However, in a statement released this morning, Hargrove urged the community to exercise caution in their rush to judgment:
“These young men are innocent until proven guilty. It is important to understand that we are dealing with allegations against four students who have been examples of fine sportsmanship; young men who have rallied our community, despite a difficult economy, as members of our most winning basketball team in recent history. We owe them the respect and privacy they deserve as we get to the truth behind these charges.”
The name of the alleged victim has not been released, but several sources close to the investigation say that there have been “troubling” reports of her behavior. Initial accounts indicate that the young woman was very drunk at the time of the alleged incident, and had refused to leave the party earlier with friends. One source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated, “It would appear, in our preliminary investigation, that the student making these charges wanted to be where she was and remained at the party of her own volition.”
Further complicating the issue, images and messages circulated on social media suggest that some in attendance deemed the young woman’s attire to be provocative. Additional online comments seem to indicate she may have been dating one or more of the young men involved.
Deputy Barry Jennings, the arresting officer, refused to comment on an ongoing investigation, saying only, “The allegations are serious and could plague these boys for the rest of their lives.”
Scholarship opportunities for two of the players have already been called into question. University of Iowa, which has a signed commitment from Deacon Mills in advance of the Buccaneers’ top seed in next week’s state tournament, is said to be “reviewing the situation.” Representatives for Duke University, said to be seriously courting John Doone, could not be reached for comment.
The four young men are still currently in custody, pending arraignment and bail hearings, set for later today.
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fourteen
IF SLOANE KEATING’S live coverage last night was scant on quotes and details, no one seemed to notice. There was nothing live to cover, really, just an empty parking lot. Still, the fact that she was there, reporting from our high school, had the entire town in rapt attention. Will was texting all night, and Mom left Margie Doone three different messages before we all found ourselves in the living room to watch the ten o’clock news together for the first time in . . . well, maybe ever.
The wind had picked up, and the chilly breeze gave Sloane’s report the effect of a bizarre newscaster music video, her blond hair whipping about lightly, her lips perfectly lined, her eyes huge and gleaming white, like alien dinner plates. She was a Pixar princess in shoulder pads.
Overnight, however, she’d managed to gather more information, and though her blog post this morning on the regional page of the Des Moines Register lacked live video, what it did have were a couple of cold, hard facts and the scent of scandal. Just before fourth period, Lindsey pointed out that Reuters had picked it up.
The news vans in the parking lot sent a strong gust of wind across the lit embers of everyone’s imagination. In the cafeteria, you could almost see heat waves rippling the air over the three tables of Buccaneers. The guys on the team were talking about last night’s practice. Coach Sanders had gotten choked up, and told them that if there was ever a time to come together as a team, this was it—both on and off the court. He swore he was doing everything in his power to get Dooney and Deacon to the tournament next weekend.