17-year-old raped classmate during shooter drill: charges

HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) - A northwestern Indiana youth is facing rape charges for allegedly assaulting a classmate during a school active shooter drill.

The 17-year-old Hammond Morton High School student was charged as an adult with rape, criminal confinement and sexual battery and arrested Wednesday.

Police were called to the school on Nov. 12, where the 16-year-old victim was crying, court documents say. She told police she was in band class with the older teen when the drill was announced and the class was told to go to a darkened instrument storage room.

The youth bumped into her, asked who it was, and the girl said her name, documents say. The youth then started touching her breasts and genitals. She tried moving away from him and getting him off her, but he was too strong for her. The girl felt she had to stay quiet because of the drill.

The boy stuck his hands down her pants, then grabbed her and stuck her hands down his pants. He then again stuck his hands down her pants, documents say. He stopped when the lights were turned back on, and the girl went to her desk and cried.

The victim's parents were contacted and she was taken to a hospital for a sexual assault examination.