Local

Students report groping during choir concert

The Yelm Police Department is investigating accusations of groping during a holiday choir concert at Yelm High School on Wednesday.
According to Yelm Community Schools, four students reported that a classmate grabbed their buttocks while on stage during the evening performance in front of an auditorium full of people.
The father of one of the alleged victims, who did not want to be identified, told KIRO 7 his daughter seemed unhappy during the concert. He was stunned to hear what his daughter had to say happened while she was singing on stage.
“It happened numerous times, the whole time she was up there, and same story goes for the other girls,” he says, “I want to make sure that he doesn’t do that to any other children.”
Yelm Police say they have been conducting interviews at the school. Accusations like this are rare at school events, according to Sgt. Adam Wood.
“It’s unusual for us, we don’t get a lot of allegations like that. When something like that does come in we take it very seriously,” he said.
So far, investigators say they have not identified the suspected student.