Five Pleasant Grove Middle School students surrendered and were arrested Wednesday for their alleged roles in an assault of a fellow student on a district school bus Nov. 30.
According to a press release from the Texarkana, Texas Police Department, charges range from sexual assault to indecency with a child. The boys, who are all 13 and 14 years old, were placed in the custody of the Bowie County Juvenile Probation Department.
The 13-year-old victim's mother notified TTPD of the alleged incident Dec. 1 and warrants were issued last week for the boys. Soon after they were issued, the warrants were held as new case information became available. According to the press release, TTPD evaluated that information and determined it did not refute the probable cause upon which the warrants were originally based and that arrests of all five were justified.
PGISD Superintendent Dr. Jason Smith said last week when the warrants were handed down that the students had been removed from the regular classroom setting following an internal investigation.
"It was done immediately following the investigation conducted by campus administration," he said. That investigation included the assistance of the district's school resource officer, who is also a member of TTPD. "If and when a student or students are charged with an assault, it is district protocol to remove those students from the regular classroom."
Smith also said last week that consequences can be more severe with a school district than with a criminal charge.
"Depending on our opinion of school safety for our kids, we can remove students in the best interest of our student body with appropriate evidence," he said.