Football players charged in teen rape

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (KXAN) - A group of Hendrickson High School football players has been charged in connection with the rape of a ninth-grade student during a pool get-together.

Leonard Leon Scales and Tommie Lee Robins Jr., both 18, are charged with second-degree felony sexual assault and unlawful restraint, a state jail felony.

Deionta Wayne James, 19, and Curtis Dennis Franklin, 17, are charged with unlawful restraint.

All four are on the varsity football roster for the 2010-11 school year.

The charges came after a ninth-grade Hendrickson student went to a school counselor to say she had been raped over the weekend at a neighborhood pool -- just around the corner from the high school the suspects attend.

According to a police affidavit, the student said on April 16 she went to the Falcon Pointe Recreational/Pool Center in Pflugerville with a friend, who had been invited. Scales, Robins and James accompanied the girl to go to the pool, where they then met Franklin and another man, the affidavit said.

The girl told police that while she was standing outside the pool, Scales and Franklin picked her up and threw her in.

According to the affidavit, Scales and Franklin held her while James pulled off her clothes.

The girl said all three attempted to fondle her, even though she repeatedly told them to stop, the affidavit said.

The girl told authorities that she left the pool to shower off but said the three, James, her friend and another man followed her into the shower. Then, she overheard someone say, "Turn the lights off."

According to the affidavit, Franklin held down the girl while Scales and Robins both sexually assaulted her.

Jerry Smith, the attorney for Scales, said he has found witnesses who will dispute the allegation against his client and the others.

"These are not the type of kids that would do this," Smith told KXAN. "They're good students, athletes, and some of the politest kids I've ever met."

Management officials for the pool, which is run by the Falcon Pointe Homeowners' Association, said no lifeguards were on duty at the time and that the office employees likely had already gone home.

HOA manager Steve Jordan said he has two young daughters who live in the same neighborhood and said he is shocked by the reports.

School officials said all four football players were removed from campus following the felony charges, which is required under the Texas Education Code . The suspects have been placed in an off-campus alternative school.

Late Friday, RealManage, the management company for Falcon Pointe Community Association, issued the following statement:

The Falcon Pointe Homeowners Association was surprised and saddened to learn of the recent event involving a young woman at the association’s Residents Club. The incident was reported at the school and the association was not made aware of it until we were alerted by the media yesterday afternoon. As a result of this unfortunate incident, the association will be taking another look at the security procedures in place and the clubhouse facilities. We encourage all residents to be vigilant about reporting any suspicious activities at the Residents Club and to follow the proper procedures for accessing the facilities.