No sex assault charges to be filed in teen wrestling case, prosecutor says

County officials will not file charges against a teen wrestler who identifies as transgender after he was accused of sexually assaulting his female opponent, a spokesman told WORLD Friday. Pierce County prosecutors in Washington declined to file criminal charges on June 5, the spokesman said. The wrestler, a male who competed as a girl, made headlines after Kallie Keeler alleged he assaulted her during their match. Keeler, a student in the Puyallup School District, sued school officials and an athletic association earlier this week over the incident. She says her opponent’s true sex was withheld from her and she never gave her consent to wrestling with a male.

Why did prosecutors decline to press charges? They did not believe charges could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, according to a memo from the deputy prosecutor shared with WORLD. Additionally, the prosecutor said case law concerning consent in athletic contests further complicated the case. “I have no doubt that the victim did not want any penetration to occur, but unfortunately, that is not the definition of consent to which we are legally bound,” the prosecutor wrote. The prosecutor added that inappropriate touching of the genitals in wrestling was common, and it would be difficult to prove it was a deliberate assault.

Why did Keeler sue the school? She alleged that school officials failed to notify her that her wrestling opponent was a male. Additionally, Keeler said officials delayed notifying law enforcement about the incident for nearly two months.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Black’s report for the details on Keeler’s lawsuit.