09:06 AM PST on Monday, November 17, 2003

Associated Press

NORTH BEND, Ore. -- Two North Bend High School junior varsity football players accused of sexually assaulting three other youths are scheduled to go to court Monday to enter pleas to 12 felony counts.

Jordan L. Akins, 17, and Bradley A. Kellerhals, 15, are accused of holding a third boy down in a school locker room last month and sexually assaulting him. They are also accused of assaulting another boy in the back of a school bus on the way back to school after a game.

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Although district Superintendent Jim Howard would not confirm, because of confidentiality rules, whether Akins and Kellerhals have been expelled, the boys no longer attend school at North Bend.

Administrators say they're taking the incident seriously. They've already promised to add a second adult to ride on the minibuses that take students to sporting events, and there's a continuing discussion about ways to improve school safety. The district implemented a policy this fall that addresses harassment, bullying and hazing.

On Oct. 16, after a junior varsity football game at Sutherlin High School in Douglas County, 12 students rode a minibus back to North Bend, according to Superintendent Jim Howard. An assistant coach, who was driving the bus, heard some noise in the back and told the students to settle down.

After the team arrived at the high school, the students went to their lockers, said Boyd Bjorkquist, the school's athletic director, and the coach dropped off some equipment in a different part of the gym as the students changed in one of the team rooms.

That weekend, one of the boys' parents reported to the school's principal that he'd been sexually assaulted. On further investigation, administrators discovered that two boys were victimized -- one on the minibus and one in the locker room. Four days later, Akins and Kellerhals were suspended. They were arrested and sent to Coos County's juvenile detention center.

Principal John Franzen said last week that no coaches were disciplined as a result of the investigation.

"Neither one of the victims said a word about this to coaches," Franzen said. "The guy that was driving the bus had no idea what was going on."

Administration officials have pledged to make sure that minibuses with a full load of kids always have an adult besides the driver on board. In the October incident, the only adult on board was the coach, who drove the bus.

The district also is considering knocking out portions of the concrete walls that enclose the team locker rooms and replacing them with windows, so coaches in other parts of the maze-like locker room can see what's happening.