Parents asking for answers after alleged sexual battery at Lanesville High School

LANESVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- Parents are demanding answers from a southern Indiana school district after alleged sexual battery involving students.

Harrison County Sheriff Nick Smith said two teenage boys were charged on Monday after a three-week investigation began when a parent reported "inappropriate touching" by one or more upperclassmen on the basketball team.

Smith says that the "alleged sexual battery occurred on school property, in the boys' locker room, and at or during school sponsored events on more than one occasion within the last two years."

The sheriff says two juvenile males are charged with sexual battery and harassment. He told WDRB News the department learned of the incidents in late November.

Parents at Lanesville Community Schools said the situation went on too long before it was addressed by the school. Several went to the Lanesville School Board meeting Tuesday night to ask members of the school board and administration about their response.

At the meeting, officials at Lanesville High School said they can't talk about the incident.

"So the elephant in the room is not going to be addressed tonight?" Brian McIntyre, a parent, said. "You have to address it."

LANESVILLE SEXUAL ABUSE CHARGES — Brian McIntyre speaks at a Lanesville Community Schools board meeting on Dec. 20, 2022.

McIntyre said his family is just one of those affected by the situation, which is why they attended the school board meeting on Tuesday.

"Some acknowledgement of what's currently being done to address the elephant in the room regarding the administrative issue of what's going on code of conduct-wise," McIntyre said. "We're disappointed. It was clear that they did not want to say anything."

Board members said they wouldn't address any issues besides what was on the agenda.

Toward the end of the nearly seven-minute exchange, Superintendent Steve Morris cited the ongoing legal and criminal reasons for not commenting.

"It's about the investigation from the school's standpoint," Morris said. "And from the legal system standpoint, and at this point in time that's all we can say and address on this issue, period."

After the meeting, McIntyre and other parents met with the principal.

One school official said the two students charged in the case aren't allowed to participate in extra curricular activities, but are still enrolled in school.