Document shows police knew extent of Brentwood Academy assault allegations in 2015

NOTE TO READERS: This story contains graphic descriptions that may be disturbing to some readers.

In August of 2015, a 12-year-old boy told a Brentwood Police Department detective graphic details of being sexually assaulted by a fellow Brentwood Academy student, according to a document obtained by The Tennessean.

The document is a report by Brentwood detective JP Wood chronicling details shared by the boy during an interview with the police. The statements mirror sexual assault allegations dating back to the 2014-15 school year included in a $30 million civil lawsuit filed in early August in Williamson County against the elite private school and its leadership.

The police report confirms the boy spoke to police about the alleged attacks roughly two years before he and his mother filed the civil lawsuit. The report says the police spoke with others potentially involved in the case before the August 2015 interview with the boy.

"It does seem like a somewhat long investigation," said Chad Butler, the child sex abuse prosecutor for the Nashville district attorney's office.

Butler said he's had cases last a year or longer, depending on several variables, including the number of people involved, their level of cooperation and whether any forensic test results are needed.

The civil lawsuit likely would not affect the speed of any criminal investigation, Butler said.

Roland Mumford, attorney for the boy and mother referred to as John and Jane Doe in the lawsuit, said the family continues to work with local authorities.

"The child's mother has repeatedly communicated with the Brentwood Police Department and the District Attorney at all levels. There have been commitments and assurances to the mother and her attorney for more than one year. ... We intend to continue to cooperate with them," Mumford said in the emailed statement Monday afternoon.

Related:

► Lawsuit: Brentwood Academy officials refused to report repeated rapes of 12-year-old boy

► In strong rebuke, Brentwood Academy headmaster denies school failed to respond to rape report

► Police, child services investigate allegations related to Brentwood Academy reported assaults

The lawsuit accuses school leaders of not doing enough to prevent the attack and failing to appropriately report the alleged attacks to authorities. School administrators have denied any wrongdoing.

The lawsuit states during the 2014-15 school year the boy, then a sixth-grade student, was repeatedly attacked by one eighth-grade boy, who had help from other eighth-grade basketball teammates. In the lawsuit and the police statement, the then-12-year-old boy says he was held down while another boy put his penis on his face and in his mouth.

The boy “stated that other eighth grade boys were saying, ‘eat it, open your mouth, accept it,’ ” the police report states. Similar accusations are included in the lawsuit.

John Doe spoke with a counselor after the reported attacks, disclosing more information about what he said happened to him, according to the police report.

The report states “numerous interviews had already been conducted in this investigation” as of August 2015, but now the boy “felt comfortable at this point in time to be able to give additional details which he had remembered.”

Brentwood police confirmed last week the investigation remains open, but have not provided any details as to the length of the investigation. Brentwood Police Department Assistant Chief Tommy Walsh confirmed the authenticity of the document obtained by The Tennessean.

More:

► When to report suspected child sex abuse

► What public oversight is there for private schools in Tennessee like Brentwood Academy?

The police report included redactions of John Doe’s name and the names of the students involved in the alleged attacks. John Doe told police he was attacked on four consecutive Fridays in late January and early February 2015. On each occasion he was held down during the attack while other students blocked the entrances to the locker room, according to the police document.

Similar accusations are included in the civil lawsuit.

The eighth-grade boy accused of reportedly attacking John Doe told others around the basketball team that he "f---ed that boy up the ass and stuck a Gatorade bottle in him," according to the lawsuit.

The boys referenced as attackers in the suit were known as bullies, according to the lawsuit. The same boy accused of carrying out the rapes also reportedly defecated in another student's shoe, according to the lawsuit.

The Tennessee Department of Children's Services confirmed last week the opening of an investigation in April 2015, but has not said whether the case is still open.

Brentwood Academy Headmaster Curt Masters denied allegations of wrongdoing by school leadership that are included in the civil suit.

“At no point before or during the investigation in 2015 did I (or anyone on our staff to my knowledge) hear any allegation of rape. When we heard of inappropriate activity, we responded immediately and thoroughly, cooperated fully with the authorities, and took appropriate disciplinary action based on what we knew,” Masters said in a statement released last week.

The police report states the boy told police he believed his mother learned of the attacks from another mother and then contacted Masters to set up a meeting.

Jane Doe contacted the school and sought counseling for her son, according to the lawsuit. However, a counselor purportedly told her Christian schools don’t report such allegations, and Masters is accused of telling the boy to “turn the other check.”

Daystar Counseling Ministries, the private counseling organization, is not a defendant in the case but disputes the general accusations. Masters has said certain statements attributed to him are untrue but has not specified which statements.

Reach Dave Boucher at dboucher@tennessean.com or 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.