Crime

Florida Authorities Investigating Incident In Which Teen Girl Allegedly Had Sex with Multiple Partners in High School Bathroom

About 25 male students were seen entering the bathroom where the incident occured

Published on May 25, 2016 12:50 PM

A week after a 15-year-old Florida girl allegedly had sex with multiple partners in a public high school bathroom, the state’s Department of Children and Families is investigating the alleged incident with local authorities.

Originally, the Lee County Sherriff’s Office had declined to pursue any criminal charges resulting from the incident. The girl and her family declined to press charges, and it appears that the girl’s partners were also minors.

But everything changed several days later when, according to sheriff’s office spokesman Tony Schall, a cellphone video of the incident was posted online and sent to several news outlets. At least one of the news stations contacted authorities.

The emergence of the video has prompted authorities to investigate whether any laws had been broken. Schall declined to elaborate on any possible charges.

• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

Florida criminal defense attorney Richard Hornsby tells PEOPLE that the cellphone video likely forced the hand of authorities, who now visual images of what happened in that bathroom.

“This video is independent evidence outside of the girl,” Hornsby says. “The video would give a graphic indication of what happened during the incident.”

Additionally, anyone who distributed the video could face charges. “Florida has a sexting law for minors,” says Hornsby. “But if any adults retransmitted the video, they could be charged with violating child pornography laws.”

According to a police report, the female student had sex with multiple male students after school hours on May 17. Lee County School spokeswoman Amity Chandler said in a statement on Tuesday that while 25 boys were seen going into the bathroom, the number of boys the girl had sex with “is less than the number seen going into the restroom.”

In a letter to parents, school superintendent Greg Adkins urged parents not to rush to judgement. “They are adolescents who have made a serious mistake,” he wrote. “They must now be afforded the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.”