Video Of Alleged LAUSD Campus Sexual Assault Posted Online

LOS ANGELES, CA — Police on Wednesday investigated allegations of a sexual assault that involved several students and was recorded in a Los Angeles high school bathroom. The video, which circulated among students at Westside's Hamilton High School and was posted to social media, has roiled the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The allegations involve several male students with one teen assaulting a girl in a boys' bathroom, the school district and police investigators acknowledged Tuesday. As word of the video spread, Hamilton High School Principal Jennifer Baxter notified parents by phone, and counselors were made available to students traumatized by the incident.

Baxter described the alleged attack to parents as an"incident ... involving several students in the boys' restroom."

The alleged assault is believed to have occurred October 20th at the Cheviot Hills school, and as of Tuesday, no students had been detained, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. A department spokesperson said investigators are working to determine how many boys were involved in the attack. The victim told police she knew some of her attackers, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"There was one female student and a group of males in the bathroom," LAPD Detective Brett Hopkins told the newspaper. "It is not clear how many were involved, but one had sexual contact with her."

Students at the school in the 2900 block of South Robertson Boulevard told reporters the video depicts several male students surrounding and sexually assaulting a female student in the bathroom. It was posted online along with photos of the incident. Authorities this week were working to get the video taken offline.

"There were pictures on Instagram. There were videos being passed around, and it was kind of hard to avoid them, one student told Inside Edition.

"At Los Angeles Unified, the well-being and safety of our students and staff is of paramount importance. An alleged incident occurred on the campus of Hamilton High School earlier this week potentially involving several students in the boys' restroom. The school administration immediately and proactively began coordinating with the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Unified School Police to investigate the issue. Our school crisis team was also activated and students were given an opportunity to speak to counselors about their concerns,"according to a statement issued by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

"At this point, this situation is an ongoing police investigation. As such, we are unable to comment further so as not to interfere with the police investigation, as well as to respect the privacy rights of students. At Los Angeles Unified, we take all student matters very seriously, and uphold the privacy and confidentiality of all in our school communities," the district concluded.

Fox11 reported the high school has hired two additional security aides and is allowing students to go to the restroom in pairs in the wake of the alleged assault.

City News Service contributed to this report.