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 the district will take appropriate disciplinary action in regard to the students.
"It was reported to us by the Texarkana, Texas, Police Department that all five students did turn themselves in today," Smith said. "We have received more information from the police department based on the charges. With that information, we will ensure that the appropriate consequences are administered within the district policies."
Last week when the warrants were handed down, Smith said 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.
The students were returning from a basketball game in Paris, Texas, when the alleged incident occurred and were being supervised by two coaches, one who was driving the bus. Smith said he could not comment on whether the coaches had been disciplined, as it is a personnel matter.
"Anytime we feel that proper supervision has not been conducted by one of our personnel on a bus, in a classroom or in a hallway, we will take appropriate steps to rectify that issue," he said. Smith confirmed there were cameras on the bus, but that it was dark and the cameras were not working properly due to a hard drive being corrupted. He said they are looking at the procedures the district has in place to monitor students on the school buses.
"I do feel like we have great protocols and we will continue to make sure those are followed. There's always room for improvement," he said. "We will look at those to see if there's things we need to do to improve supervision. The main thing is for it to be a safe environment."