'Complete shock': Lethbridge high school shaken following sexual assault allegations

LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. -

Students at Chinook High School in Lethbridge said there was a sombre, uneasy feeling the day after police searched a football locker room for forensic evidence in connection to an alleged sexual assault.

In a news release Wednesday, the Lethbridge Police Service said the alleged incident involved a 16-year-old student and players on the football team. The alleged assault occurred in a school locker-room on Oct. 3, after school hours.

No arrests have been made and no charges have been laid at this time

However, many students are talking about the sexual assault allegations that have hit the school's football team. Some players on the team said they don't know what happened.

"Everybody's just in complete shock and the whole team doesn't know what to do,” said Jwan Ali, a Grade 11 student and member of the team.

Ali said he was in a different dressing room after school on Tuesday when police said a 16-year-old was assaulted in a locker room.

Team members said they feel shocked, hurt and left in the dark.

"Not everybody was there and the whole team is getting blamed for it and I don't think that's right," Ali told CTV News.

Police arrived at the school Wednesday with search warrants and the Forensic Identification Unit.

The Lethbridge Police Service's Forensic Identification Unit responded to Chinook High School to help investigate an alleged sexual assault.

Investigators said those involved knew each other.

"It did actually kind of shock me when something of this measure was just randomly told to everyone and my parents got an email about it and stuff," said Grade 10 student Liam Esselmont.

"I’ve never really heard of something like this happening."

Students said the school acknowledged the incident with them Thursday in a video address.

"This is a horrible thing for anyone to go through," said Christine Cassie, the CEO of the Chinook Sexual Assault Centre.

"I thank the school and the police for doing the investigation, that's fantastic that they're involved."

In a statement released Wednesday, the Lethbridge School Division said all football-related activities at Chinook High School have been suspended for the duration of the week to allow for the investigation to continue.

"Chinook High School continues to be committed to ensuring the safety and health of all students are of paramount importance,” the statement said.

Students said they’ve felt a shift in the mood around campus since the allegations were released.

"The mood so far today was been not very great," said Esselmont.

"People are still talking about in the hallway and stuff, like what could possibly have happened and rumours are spreading even though our principal said not to spread rumours."

"People are mostly trying to ignore it but you can tell it's on everyone’s mind," added Bryan Rumsey, a Grade Nine student at Chinook High School.

"Everyone’s thinking about it. Like ‘how is this going to change our school in the future?’"

The Chinook Sexual Assault Centre is reminding students of the supports available to them.

"I think, for the students, it's time to really do some reflection and really look at what systems of supports they have," said Cassie.

"All schools have school councillors that are there that are specialized that understand the different levels of trauma and certainly they are available for students to reach out to."

For more information on programs and supports for those affected by sexual assault and abuse, you can visit the Chinook Sexual Assault Centre’s website.

Both the Lethbridge Police Service and Lethbridge School Division will not be releasing any further information until the investigation is complete.