HOUSTON – Alief Independent School District Police are investigating an alleged gang rape of a female middle school student by three of her male classmates in a school bathroom.

The incident, which occurred on Thursday May 5, was reported by the victim the following Monday, and parents are outraged that school administrators are just now revealing the alleged sex assault, KHOU reports.

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The incident involved seventh- and eighth-grade students at Alief Middle School, where three boys allegedly pushed the girl into the boy’s bathroom and sexually assaulted by two of them while a third took pictures and video on a cell phone. A fourth male student allegedly also witnessed the attack.

“Alief ISD confirms that at least three boys have been removed from campus while police investigate,” according to the news site. “Detectives are going over surveillance video that apparently shows the girl being pushed into the restroom and … they’ve also confiscated the boy’s cell phones (sic) to look for videos, pictures and texts.”

Alief ISD spokesman Craig Eichhorn refused to discuss details of the case with the Houston Chronicle, but said district police will forward their findings to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office for potential criminal charges.

“I do know that once the investigation is concluded, we are going to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.

“It’s crazy,” parent Adam Selph told KHOU. “It’s just unbelievable.”

Selph said he wasn’t impressed by the school district’s month-long delay in notifying parents.

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“As a parent of a young child, I mean, it could be anyone’s child in there,” he said. “If it could happen to one child, it could happen to mine, and I want to know what’s going on. I want to be informed.”

School officials refused to discuss the case with KHOU on camera, but claim they were waiting to wrap up their investigation before informing parents. They also allege they were protecting the identity of the students involved in the alleged rape.

A prepared statement issued by the district contends that “once the administration and Alief ISD Police Department were made aware of the situation, they immediately launched an investigation,” KTRK reports.

Parents were alerted to the alleged rape in a letter sent home this week.

A district spokesman told KPRC that decisions about informing parents about school incidents rest with each school’s principal. So far, no students have been charged criminally in the case, according to the news site.

The attack, of course, prompted heated comments online.

“Unfortunately, given their ages, this won’t amount to much because we cannot be too hard on our young thugs,” JackALope posted. “After all, tough punishment might make them feel bad. The victim on the other hand, will live with this the rest of her life and will never be the same again.”

“…(I)n our ‘no fault, no responsibility, blame everyone but the thug’ society the fullest extent of the law won’t amount to much,” Ralph agreed. School officials have “an impossible job trying to do what is right in a society that just will not stand for holding someone responsible.”

“That’s what happens when you let the internet raise your kids,” Texaslib1 added.

“What doofus thought the best way to handle it was to write a letter?” Cosmo questioned.

“Another example of the decline and fall of today’s youth,” Sam58 wrote.