Source : the age
Sydney private school St Gregory’s College has confirmed two of its students face “abhorrent” allegations they and a third boy raped a girl at a home in Sydney’s south-west suburbs, one week after a trio of eastern suburbs teens were accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old.
The three boys, all aged 17, are accused of raping a 17-year-old girl at a home in the Macarthur region on Saturday. The trio were arrested in raids of homes across the south-west on Wednesday and taken to Narellan police station.
Police will allege two of the boys and the girl were watching a Camden Rams match before going back to a nearby home and drinking alcohol.
The trio then allegedly went to a pub and continued drinking, despite being underage, before returning to the home.
The third boy allegedly joined the group as the teenage boys inflicted a multi-hour assault on the girl, police will allege.
One of the boys faces 11 charges over the alleged sexual incident, including six counts of aggravated sexual assault in the company of others, three counts of sexual intercourse without consent, sexually touch another person without consent, and carrying out a sexual act without consent with another person.
Another boy was charged with eight offences, including six counts of aggravated sexual assault in the company of others, sexual intercourse without consent, and common assault. A third boy faces two counts of aggravated sexual assault in the company of others.
The group, none of whom can be legally identified, were refused bail on Wednesday to appear before a children’s court on Thursday.
Electronic devices and other items from the boys’ homes were seized by detectives in raids on Wednesday, and are expected to be reviewed as police gather evidence in the case.
St Gregory’s College principal Matthew Brennan sent a letter to parents confirming two of the accused boys were students.
“As this is an ongoing criminal investigation and before the courts, it is important that we do and say nothing that could compromise those independent processes,” he said in a letter.
“We express our deep concern for the young woman police have said was the victim of the alleged sexual assault, and her family and loved ones.”
Brennan said the college stands with victims of sexual violence.
“It is abhorrent what is alleged by police and is the antithesis of what we stand for and the values that we embrace,” he said.
“These are very serious of allegations and the judicial process must now be allowed to take its course free of any commentary. We ask everyone to avoid speculation or sharing of information that could impact the parties involved or the independent process now underway.”
St Gregory’s, commonly called St Greg’s, is a Catholic co-ed school in primary years but a boys-only senior school at Gregory Hills, near Campbelltown.
The well-known nursery for NRL players charges students up to $12,000 a year in tuition and $32,000 each year for boarders.
The charges follow the arrest of three Scots College students, a 13-year-old boy and two 14-year-old boys, last Thursday over an alleged attack of a 14-year-old girl in an eastern suburbs alley way in July. The alleged attacks are not linked.
The 13-year-old and one of the 14-year-olds was charged with aggravated sexual assault in the company of others, and two counts of aggravated sexual touching of another person. The other 14-year-old was charged with a single count each of the same offences. The boys were granted conditional police bail to appear in a children’s court on Tuesday.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.
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Daniel Lo Surdo is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He previously helmed the national news live blog for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
