Details: Midland Educators Knew of Brutal Lewd Assault of Student on Video

MIDLAND, TX – More information regarding the scandal that led to the arrest of five faculty members of Midland Christian School on Wednesday have been released.

As previously reported, on Feb. 17, three administrators and two coaches, including the superintendent and head football coach, were arrested by the Midland Police Department for failure to report with intent to conceal neglect or abuse. For the original article see: Superintendent, Head Football Coach Arrested in Midland Christian Scandal

New information revealed that an assault took place on Jan. 20, 2022 at Midland Christian's baseball field, Christensen Stadium. The victim described to police that after baseball practice he was assaulted by his fellow teammates.

During the assault the group allegedly turned the lights off in the locker room and struck the victim a number of times. At one point someone in the group sexually assaulted the student with a baseball bat.

This was apart of what the team called "Freshman Initiation." During the assault the victim attempted to fight back but was told he was not allowed to hit his teammates back.

The assault was then reported to coaches and staff who allegedly did nothing. Also there were reports that a video of the assault was taken. That video was shared across social media. 

After no resolution the victim went to the Midland Police Department. MPD then contacted Midland Christian's Superintendent, Jared Lee. 

Lee claimed that the principal of the high school, Dana Ellis, informed Lee of the assault. The superintendent then put it on the shoulders of the high school's assistant principal, Matthew Counts, and Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Gregory McClendon.

Police then asked for documentation of the assault. Lee refused to give them the documents and then refused to talk anymore. A search warrant for the school was obtained a few days later. They were able to find documentation of the assault but not from the original date. Instead the document was made around the time the police got into contact with the school.

The MPD also found emails between the five clearly refusing to report the sexual assault to law enforcement.

This gave the police enough evidence to arrest and charge the five. 

It was later discovered that a juvenile was also arrested. The name, gender, and age of the suspect has not been released at this time. It is unknown whether the juvenile is in custody at this time or not.

All five of the faculty members were released from the Midland County Jail on the same day thanks to a personal recognizance bond.