Mar 13, 2007 3:13 pm US/Pacific
2 De Anza Players Had Sex With Teen, Witness Says
CUPERTINO (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
At least 10 people watched and cheered while two De Anza baseball players had sex with a 17-year-old girl at a house party, a woman who attended the gathering said in an interview Monday.
Authorities are investigating the alleged sexual assault at a March 4 birthday party for a member of the baseball team. No arrests have been made, and investigators have not confirmed if any De Anza players are suspects.
Megan Keefhaver said that she was one of about 50 people who attended the party and stumbled on the incident in a side room of the house.
"The people in the room obviously were cheering the guys on or something like that," Keefhaver said. "But I didn't think of it as a rape situation."
Keefhaver said she didn't know at the time that the alleged victim was under 18.
Members of the De Anza women's soccer team later took the girl to the hospital, she added.
The alleged victim, a 17-year-old girl who is not a student at the college, is struggling with what she has allegedly endured, Santa Clara County sheriff's Sgt. Ed Wise said.
"She's doing the best she can given the circumstances," he said, but added, "we're not commenting on her condition."
Eight baseball players were suspended from the team for violating the athletics department ethics code stemming from the incident. Some of the players have hired lawyers.
Sheriff's investigators took DNA samples from an unspecified number of partygoers to determine if any of them were involved in the alleged rape, officials said Monday.
Sgt. Ed Wise said some of those asked to sit for saliva swabs were ball players, but he declined to release further details. Wise said some people refused the request.
De Anza canceled three games immediately following the incident but has since decided to resume the baseball season.
The game is at Cabrillo College in Aptos Tuesday afternoon.
The eight players that were suspended last week by De Anza baseball Coach Scott Hertler will not participate, according to De Anza spokeswoman Marisa Spatafore.
There are 28 baseball players on the team roster, according to Spatafore.
The investigation is still under way as investigators sift through evidence and finalize their reports, Wise said.
Investigators are expected to turn in reports to the district attorney "at the end of the week," according to Wise.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Obama: Now Senate's Turn On Health Care 2 mins ago 
1000s Wait Hours For H1N1 Flu Shots In Bay Area 19 mins ago 
Stumble It!
Comments