Greenbrier West wrestlers charged with sexual assault

Josephine Moore, The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.
·2 min read
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Mar. 26—Two students from the Greenbrier West High School wrestling team are facing sexual assault and other charges related to an incident that occurred while the team was in Raleigh County in February for a wrestling competition.

According to a release from the Raleigh County Sheriff's Office, juvenile petitions were filed in Raleigh County Magistrate Court on Tuesday, charging two juveniles with six charges each — two counts of second-degree sexual assault, two counts of unlawful restraint and two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony.

Due to the age of the high school students, the juveniles' names and the circumstances surrounding charges are not being released.

Raleigh County Sheriff J.C. Canaday has previously stated to news outlets that all juveniles involved in the incident are males.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the Raleigh County Sheriff's Office, which remains ongoing.

Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Ben Hatfield said the incident occurred the night of Feb. 10 at a Beckley hotel.

The Greenbrier West wrestling team was in Raleigh County on Feb. 10 to compete in the Coalfield Conference Tournament at Liberty High School.

While he could not discuss the incident in detail, Hatfield said it was "entirely avoidable" and "will have a lasting impact" on the victims and juveniles charged.

"We have to do better teaching our children impulse control because they don't realize the long-term impacts of what they're doing when they're doing it," Hatfield said. "It's something that has been lost on this generation of kids ... But some of the activities I'm seeing with teenage kids — it's escalating as we go through this generation. We have to take a hard stance on a case like this because it will likely have psychological effects on the victims for a very long time to come."

With the juvenile petitions filed, Hatfield said the next step is to have the juveniles who are charged appear in court for a preliminary hearing.

Per state code, records of juvenile proceedings are not public unless disclosure is otherwise authorized by law.

Allegations involving Greenbrier West's wrestling team were brought back to light earlier in March following a separate incident at the school involving racist comments made to a Black freshman.

The racist and demeaning comments, which targeted a 14-year-old Black female at Greenbrier West, were written on a classroom wall at the school.

Those comments included multiple variations of the n-word as well as accusations of a sexual nature.

Not long after both incidents were made public, Greenbrier County Schools Superintendent Jeffrey Bryant announced his retirement effective March 29, and Greenbrier West Principal Adam Young announced his resignation effective June 30.

Email: jmoore@register-herald.com