14 boys accused of sex crimes at Venice High; police find photos of sex acts

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http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-venice-high-school-arrests-20150313-story.html

Los Angeles police descended on Venice High School on Friday, arresting nine students in connection with a series of sex crimes that began more than a year ago and involved at least two female classmates.

All but one of the arrests were on campus; authorities were attempting to locate five other students. The investigation began after a parent reported the allegations on Tuesday.
14 Teens Allegedly Sexually Assaulted 2 Venice High School Students; 9 Arrested
Nine students were arrested at or near Venice High School and five other minors were being sought for a series of alleged sexual assaults involving two female victims, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

As detectives investigated, they discovered at least one photograph showing sex acts, according to law enforcement sources. A photo that appears to show two teenagers engaged in a sex act has been circulated on social media. Allegations involved both consensual sexual acts between minors and coerced acts, which complicates the case, police said.

Twelfth grader Gabriel Siria said he was on his way to his second-period history class Friday morning when he walked past two school administrators with police officers. He watched as three students were handcuffed in the hallway outside of class.

Law enforcement officials stressed the investigation is still in its early stages and that police made the arrests quickly in an effort to prevent any more incidents.

“We didn’t want to leave the suspects out there to potentially victimize other girls at the school,” Los Angeles police Cmdr. Andrew Smith said. “The last thing we wanted was to have another victim.”