FOUR CALDWELL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ACCUSED OF REMOVING TEAMMATE’S CLOTHES ON SCHOOL BUS
Four members of the Caldwell High School volleyball team face felony charges after being accused of taking the clothes off of a teammate on a school bus.
The four students, 18-year-old Katherine Hart, 17-year-old Marina Brinkman, 17-year-old Sophie Goodman and 17-year-old Kadie Hartman have been charged with Indecency with a Child by Exposure after an incident on September 21st near Cameron in Milam County, when the team was returning to Caldwell after a game.
According to court documents, a 14-year-old girl told investigators that one of the students acted as a “lookout” while the others held her down and pulled her pants and panties down to her shins.
Court documents say one of the defendants told the Burleson County Sheriff’s Office that the students “were looking for a target to rape,” while another defendant called the incident a “tradition” that happens every year. The documents also say after the bus arrived in Caldwell, one of the defendants approached the victim’s relative who came to pick her up and said, “We basically just raped your [relative] on the bus ride home.”
The Milam County Sheriff’s Office issued warrants for the arrest of the four students, and they were arrested last week in Burleson County. Each of the suspects have been released from custody on bond.
KWHI reached out to Caldwell ISD, who provided a statement saying, “Caldwell ISD is committed to providing a safe environment for all students. We currently are actively involved in an active investigation and cannot comment any further at this time.”
Caldwell ISD Superintendent Andrew Peters told KBTX-TV in Bryan that the bus the students were on did not have a camera at the time as it was a new bus, but all buses are now equipped with cameras.
Thank you to the Milam County Sheriff’s Office for making these arrests. Hopefully the DA’s office in the case has the same fortitude.