Students arrested in rape of boy

For almost two months, four middle school students continually picked on a 13-year-old schoolmate.

On April 30, authorities say, the bullying turned brutal.

While two of the students pinned down the victim on a locker room floor at Walker Middle School, the other two raped him with a broomstick and hockey stick, deputies said Friday.

All five students were members of the school's flag football team and were in the locker room for a practice when the incident happened.

The team has one coach, but school district officials said they didn't know how many adults were supervising the students during practice.

"I just can't believe something like this would happen at the school," said Melissa Dorden, who has two daughters attending the Odessa school. "Where is the supervision?"

The district doesn't have policies requiring supervision in locker rooms, but there is an expectation of supervision for students at school, spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said.

The four suspects were arrested at the school Wednesday on sexual battery and false imprisonment charges. They are: Randall John Moye, 14; Raymond A. Price-Murray, 14; Lee Louis Myers, 14; and Diemante J. Roberts, 15.

The four have been removed from school, said school district spokesman Steve Hegarty, although no final decision has been made about their school status.

A person who answered the phone at Price-Murray's home said the teen's mother was unavailable.

A woman answering the phone at Myers' home told a reporter, "Call my attorney," before hanging up.

The families of the other two suspects could not be reached for comment.

The victim is not being named because of the nature of the crime.

School officials say they didn't learn of the incident for almost a week.

On Wednesday, the football team's coach questioned the students about a bullying incident that happened the day before.

"Wednesday morning, we brought the kids in and talked to them individually about what happened," Hegarty said. "As soon as the details came out, we got the school resource deputies involved."

At that point, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office was notified.

"We had deputies at the school throughout the day," Hegarty said.

Sheriff's officials would not comment and did not release the arrest reports, saying the suspects had been charged as juveniles.

However, Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi said the four teens will be tried as adults.

'This is a great school'

Walker parents were notified of the incident Thursday via an automated phone message, Hegarty said.

The three-sentence notification said: "Four male students were arrested yesterday for an incident involving another student. Currently, those students are not at Walker and will not return to Walker unless their legal issues are resolved. The details of the situation are confidential, but I want to assure our parents that we are doing all we can to make sure our students are safe."

Henry Johnson heard from his 12-year-old son that something happened at school.

"I'm shocked," he said. "I would have never guessed this would have happened at Walker. I like this school. This is a great school."

Carrie Caliendo, whose son plays linebacker for Walker's flag football team, said an assistant principal told her there will be no more football games this season.

She was upset after learning of the incident.

"It's very sad," she said.

Fallon Sweeting, 23, whose brother is on the team, said he didn't tell her many details about the incident.

"I think it's awful," she said.

Most teens are bullied, poll finds

The Hillsborough school district has an anti-bullying policy. Walker Middle's program is run by guidance counselors in conjunction with a school resource deputy, Hegarty said.

He said a guidance counselor spoke with Walker Middle football players Friday, and counselors will be available should other students want to talk.

In a 2005 Harris Interactive poll, about two-thirds of teens reported being bullied in the previous year about a personal characteristic. The poll found most victims never report the harassment to a teacher, principal or other staff person.

Bullies are insecure and seek gratification or self-esteem through intimidating others, said Stacey Scheckner, a South Tampa psychologist specializing in child and family counseling.

As for the young victim, recovering from such a traumatic experience will be very tough and will require professional help, Scheckner said.

"It is absolutely critical he gets help now, starting as soon as possible," she said. "That he gets the love and support of his family and his friends and everyone rallying about him."

Hegarty said he didn't know whether the boy had reached out to teachers for help before this week.

School board member April Griffin wants a thorough investigation.

"I'd like to know more about the bullying situation and find out how long that was taking place," she said.

"I was absolutely sickened when I first heard about it. I have two teenage boys myself and, as a parent more than anything else, I can't even imagine."