Grand jury returns indictments in cheerleader assault case

KFDM News has learned the Hardin County grand jury has returned two indictments in its investigation into a Silsbee High School cheerleader's allegations she was sexually assaulted at a party by football players who attended the school.

The grand jury Tuesday indicted Rakheem Jamal Bolton, 18, and Christian Paul Rountree, 19, on charges of sexual assault of a child. A judge set their bonds at $250,000 each. Rountree turned himself in and posted bond Tuesday night. Bolton hadn't surrendered as of Wednesday morning.

The charges are 2nd Degree Felonies. If convicted, Bolton and Rountree could face punishment ranging from 2-20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.  

Bolton is a senior and played football this year. Rountree played last year and has graduated.

In January a different grand jury decided not to indict the three Silsbee High School football players.

They were charged with sexually assaulting the cheerleader in October of 2008 during a party away from the Silsbee High School campus.

The girl says she was pushed into a room and sexually assaulted while the door was locked.

Attorney David Barlow was appointed special prosecutor to present the case to the grand jury when District Attorney David Sheffield recused himself after he was named as one of the defendants in a civil lawsuit filed by the cheerleader's family. The lawsuit alleges the D.A.'s investigation was improperly handled. In the past, Sheffield has strongly denied the allegations.

"I thought the evidence was very compelling and evidently the grand jury did as well," Barlow told KFDM News. "I was confident this grand jury would do the right thing and obviously they have by indicting it. The State is very happy with the outcome and so is the victim and the victim's family as well."

Barlow said he'll remain on the case and oversee the prosecution. 

The grand jury didn't indict a student who was a juvenile at the time of the incident and who had previously been charged in the case. Barlow told KFDM News the grand jury didn't have jurisdiction over him. 

 KFDM News spoke by telephone with the cheerleader's father. He didn't want to comment on the indictments and referred us to Larry Watts, a Houston-area attorney representing the teen's family in the civil lawsuit filed in Hardin County.

  "The family isn't happy with their daughter being assaulted or with anything surrounding the case, but they're satisfied the system is back on track," Watts told KFDM News during a telephone conversation Tuesday afternoon.

  "It's interesting that this is the second grand jury to hear the facts that occurred more than a year ago," said Watts. "Another grand jury was scheduled to hear the case in September of this year, but because of the inappropriate release of information to the grand jury from the D.A.'s office, that grand jury was denied the opportunity to hear the case. This grand jury heard essentially the same information heard by the previous grand jury. They had the Silsbee P.D. case file. This has been available to the school district and they didn't do one darned thing except yank the cheerleader out of her activities because she protested having to cheer during a basketball game for one of the people accused of sexually assaulting her."