Teenager pleads not guilty in locker room assault case
An 18-year-old high school student has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting a black teammate in an Idaho locker room.
The Times-News reports that prosecutors say John R.K. Howard of Keller, Texas, and two of his football teammates sexually assaulted another student with a clothes hanger at Dietrich High School in southern Idaho.
Howard is the only accused assailant being tried as an adult. Two others are facing charges in juvenile court for the Oct. 22 incident.
Howard pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a felony count of forcible sexual penetration by the use of a foreign object.
If convicted, Howard faces up to life in prison, a fine of as much as $50,000 and registration as a sex offender.
