May 23, 2007 10:35 pm US/Pacific
Witnesses To Alleged De Anza Assault Go Public
SAN JOSE (CBS 5) ―
Two De Anza College students talked to CBS 5's Len Ramirez on Wednesday about an alleged sexual assault of a 17-year-old at an off-campus party attended by some players of the De Anza baseball team.
Lauren Chief Elk and April Grolle, both 20, are players with the De Anza soccer team. They attended the now infamous party at a San Jose home on March 3rd where the alleged assault took place.
And both say they were about to leave the party when witnessed what they believe to be a crime in progress.
"That's when we saw a girl tapping on a door off the kitchen, saying 'There's a girl inside there, with 8 guys,'" Elk recalled.
"We immediately didn't think that was right, so us three girls tried to get into that room," Grolle said. They tried to get inside the room, but the door was blocked. "Finally an individual opened the door and said 'Get the f--- out of here. You don't know what's f---ing going on in here.' Slams the door back in our face."
After the assault, Grolle and Elk entered the room.
"Even though the guys had left, she didn't get up, her legs didn't move, her arms didn't move and her eyes were completely shut," Elk said "…we were just in complete shock."
"When I walked into that room, I am still amazed that not even one individual didn't stop and help us. They all just evacuated the room," Grolle said.
The two witnesses are disappointed with Santa Clara District Attorney Dolores Carr's decision not to prosecute the case.
On Wednesday, Carr commended Grolle's and Elk's aid to the 17-year-old, but defended her decision.
"We have to look at every element of the case to be proved, and of course identity is one of those issues," Carr said. "We also considered their statements and all of the other evidence and the totality of the circumstances and we were still unable to conclude that we had sufficient evidence to charge the crime."
Both Elk and Grolle said the 17-year-old allowed the two to tell their story. The alleged victim has since moved out of the area.
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