School district will focus on supporting students after teen indicted on sex crime charges

The Logan County 15-year-old accused of assaulting a six-year-old on a Benjamin Logan school bus now faces additional charges after three other potential victims have been identified.

Court documents show the teen was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury on two counts of rape and seven counts of gross sexual imposition.

The indictment indicates three other potential victims in the case — another six-year-old, an eight-year-old and a 17-year-old were assaulted sometime between Aug. 1, 2017 and Oct. 24, 2018.

The district and law enforcement were first alerted to the issue when one of the six-year-old victims was allegedly assaulted on a Ben Logan school bus on Oct. 24., according to the Logan County Sheriff’s Office. She reportedly told her parents of the incident the next day.

The teen was a bus helper on the school bus, tasked with helping substitute bus drivers with unfamiliar routes.

Benjamin Logan Local Schools Superintendent David Harmon confirmed the three additional students attend Ben Logan. He said the Logan County Sheriff’s Office shared with him at the beginning of the investigation that it was a possibility that there would be more than one victim.

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“All of it is more disturbing than zero, which is how many it should be,” he said.

Regardless of the final number of victims who come forward, Harmon said the district’s focus will be getting the kids the help they need. The district is taking recommendations from the Logan County Prosecutor’s Office and Children’s Services about how to talk with those who are affected.

He said it’s a balancing act between supporting students and not forcing them to talk when they aren’t ready.

He said the district is equipped with at least one guidance counselor at each Ben Logan school building and a district-wide social worker — which is a new position this year.

“[The social worker] has a generalized regular schedule, but she can adapt and meet the needs of students wherever they are and whenever they need that,” he said.

Harmon said giving students support during this difficult time continues to be a number one priority.

EARLIER COVERAGE: Logan County teen accused of rape was a bus helper

“Our support for students is not gonna end after ‘x’ number of days or weeks or months or years. It’ll end when the students feel it’s not necessary anymore,” Harmon said. “Five years later something pops up and there’s an event in somebody’s life that triggers this again. We’ll still be there. We’ll still be there providing support to our kids no matter what.”

Logan County mom and grandma, Heidi Taylor said she was shocked when she heard there are potentially four victims in the case.

She said she hopes everyone involved in the case can get the help they need.

“It’s gonna take them awhile. I feel for the families,” Taylor said. “I would be angry and furious if it was my child [that was hurt].”

No next court date has been scheduled for the teen.

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