Police probe The Scots College incident after 17yo boy claims he was assaulted by students
Watch the video: An incident involving students from The Scots College is under investigation by police after a boy was allegedly physically and verbally abused, and had beer thrown on him.
An incident involving students from The Scots College is under investigation by police after a teenager was allegedly forced to walk down a human tunnel, as he was physically and verbally abused, and had beer thrown all over him.
Video of the incident obtained by The Daily Telegraph shows the large crowd of teenage boys gathered on Saturday afternoon in the bushes near Woollahra Golf Club, which the boy told police he attended under the impression he would be part of a party.
The footage – posted in a private Snapchat group containing students from the top private school – shows the boy then being forced to carry a flag aloft as he walks through a group of youths with their hands in the air.
Some members of the crowd are seen to throw drinks over him, while he is pushed and slapped on the back.
The boy said to police he was told by other members of the group to carry a flag through the crowd.
The Daily Telegraph has been told that, in his statement, the boy told police he had been labelled a “fat f***” and “felt very upset” by the incident.
“I did not want this to happen to me,” he said.
After a few minutes the 17-year-old said he managed to escape the group and as he was walking down Manion Ave at Rose Bay, a woman noticed he was distressed and offered for him to go inside her flat, where he rang his mother and police.
He later attended Bondi Police Station, where he made a statement, with NSW Police saying on Sunday it had begun an investigation.
“Officers attached to Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command have commenced an investigation after a 17-year-old boy was allegedly assaulted at a sports ground in Manion Ave, Rose Bay,” a police spokesperson said.
“At about 5.40pm Saturday, police were told a group of youths had allegedly assaulted a 17-year-old boy.
“The boy sustained no injuries. An investigation into the incident has begun.”
The Scots College at Bellevue Hill is considered one of the country’s most exclusive schools, with fees for Year 12 students reaching more than $46,000 a year.
The teenager told police he was invited to join a Snapchat group two weeks ago and, at first, there was little communication between the members.
“Over the last five to six days the chat within the group began to increase, saying more and more about the … hyping up the day. I believe it was a gathering with drinking,” the boy told police.
As he approached the golf course he said he was met by boys who led him to a secluded area, hidden by trees.
He told police he was offered a beer but did not accept it, before he was forced down the human tunnel where he was also verbally abused.
The boy’s mother, told The Daily Telegraph her son was still coming to terms with the incident.
“My son is doing well,” she said on Monday.
“He just doesn’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
The trauma of hearing what happened to her son has left her shaken.
“You know when you get a phone call when you’re at work with your son screaming and telling you what had happened? I couldn’t believe it.”
She said the police had been in contact again on Monday morning, in a bid to identify the people in the video she had shared with them.
She said her son had no idea what he was walking into, believing he’d been pressured to attend what senior boys called a rite-of-passage.
She said the alcohol burned her son’s eyes and shoulders and left him covered in bruises.
On Monday morning on 2GB’s Ben Fordham, she said: “He got there late because he was coming from work. He was lured there and told it was an expectation he’d be there to show support,” she said. “When he got there, he was set upon. They poured beer over his hair, pulled his shirt, called him disgusting names… just absolutely humiliated him.
“I asked him, ‘Did you ever fall on the floor?’ He said, ‘I had to make sure I stood up, because I knew I wouldn’t get up if I lay down.’”
She said she had sent footage of the incident to multiple staff at the school, and staff had spoken to her to make it clear that it was “not a school-sanctioned event”. She said the head of the senior school said they would be working with the police.
She said Dr Ian Lambert, the school’s Principal “hasn’t replied or reached out to me”.
In a statement to 2GB, Scots College Principal Dr Ian Lambert said he was “disappointed and disgusted” but it was inappropriate to comment further given the incident was the subject of a police investigation.
Do you have a story for The Daily Telegraph? Message 0481 056 618 or email tips@dailytelegraph.com.au
More Coverage
Originally published as Police probe The Scots College incident after 17yo boy claims he was assaulted by students
