Schools
Transgender Student Was Sexually Assaulted at a Nearby High School
The victim, a 15-year-old student who police said identifies as a transgender male, was leaving the bathroom when three other students confronted him on Monday.
By Bay City News
A transgender student at Hercules High School was sexually assaulted in a school bathroom Monday morning in what police are investigating as a hate crime, according to police.
The assault was reported at 11:06 a.m. in a boy's bathroom in Building 300 at the school, located at 1900 Refugio Valley Road, police spokeswoman Detective Connie Van Putten said.
The victim, a 15-year-old student who police said identifies as a transgender male, was leaving the bathroom when three other students confronted him.
The students physically and sexually assaulted the victim, Van Putten said. He was taken to a hospital and his parents were notified of the attack.
Police have not identified any suspects and the attack, which is being investigated as a sexual assault and hate crime, Van Putten said.
The school was the scene of a fight involving another transgender student late last year.
Jewlyes Gutierrez, a 16-year-old sophomore who identifies as a transgender female, was involved in a fight with three other 16-year-old students on Nov. 13.
Gutierrez was charged with misdemeanor battery in connection with the fight, but her family distributed a petition saying that Gutierrez was responding to constant bullying and harassment.
A video of the incident was widely viewed online and fueled a debate late last year about the school district's policies about bullying.
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