TORONTO — Fourteen teenagers were in Canadian court Tuesday, facing charges in the alleged months-long sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl at a Toronto school.
All 14 were released on bail but are subject to strict release conditions, a spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General told Reuters. The age of the students prohibits publication of the bail conditions.
The students were arrested en masse at their school on Monday out of concern for the safety of the girl and potential witnesses, police told reporters.
The victim, who cannot be named under Canadian law because of her youth, has told police she had been sexually harassed and assaulted by various students since September 2004.
"The whole incident itself is very disturbing to us as a school board but we will await the outcome of the police investigation on the criminal side of it," Toronto Catholic School Board member Kevin Kobus said to Canadian media.
Twelve male students were charged with criminal harassment while two female students face a charge of threatening bodily harm. Criminal harassment can include everything from stalking to repeated threats.
Two other male students, aged 17 and 15, were arrested a week earlier in connection with the case. They were charged with sexual assault and forcible confinement.
Police allege one sexual assault took place in a school stairwell, then the victim was forced into a washroom where the assault continued.
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