Student found not guilty in school sex assault case

The quiet handling of the attack on a 14-year-old St. Petersburg High girl angered parents of other students at the school.

By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 15, 2001

LARGO -- A 16-year-old accused of sexually assaulting a fellow student at St. Petersburg High School has been found not guilty of charges related to the alleged attack.

Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Dee Anna Farnell found Roosevelt Mells Jr. not guilty of sexual battery and lewd and lascivious behavior in a non-jury, juvenile court trial Dec. 6, two months after the female student reported an attack.

The verdict came after the Nov. 13 guilty plea of another student accused of participating with Mells in the attack against a 14-year-old girl, who is not named because of the nature of the charges.

Pilot Taylor, 16, who formerly attended St. Petersburg High, pleaded guilty to a lewd and lascivious charge and was ordered committed to a Department of Juvenile Justice facility. Typically, juveniles serve 12 to 18 months, depending on their behavior.

Rosalee Willis, Taylor's grandmother, said her grandson was unjustly charged and that he pleaded guilty simply as a matter of convenience, not because he is really guilty.

"He did not do that," she said in an interview on Friday. "Pilot's never been in any trouble before."

Mells' family could not immediately be reached for comment.

The way St. Petersburg High School officials handled the Oct. 5 attack angered some parents of students at the school.

The incident was handled quietly among police and school officials. Another attack that was reported later the same month received much different treatment. In the second case, a letter was sent home to parents and St. Petersburg police held a news conference.

According to police, the assault of the 14-year-old took place in a boys' restroom.

The girl said she was being harassed by Mells and Taylor. She said she ran from the boys and ducked into the nearest restroom. The boys followed her inside.

Police said the boys then restrained the girl and sexually assaulted her.

After the incident, the boys ran off campus, and the girl told a school staff member, who related the incident to school resource Officer Craig Corry.

Detectives arrested Mells and Taylor at their St. Petersburg homes Oct. 8.

School principal Linda Benware discussed that incident with teachers and asked them to talk with students about sexual harassment and school discipline, and to answer any questions from students.

A second attack took place Oct. 12, police said. At 11:46 a.m. a 16-year-old girl was forced into the girls' restroom in the high school's media building, police said.

The girl was able to break free and run away. Seth Samuel, 16, was arrested and charged with attempted sexual battery and kidnapping. His case is pending.

St. Petersburg High School principal Linda Benware said that Mells, though acquitted of the charges, is no longer allowed to attend the school. She said he now attends an alternative school for students who violate the district's code of conduct.

She said the girl also attends another school, though not because of any behavior problems.

Benware said the alleged attacks have led the school to offer female students self-defense classes. She said officials also have looked at whether they can better secure some areas of the school campus.

"These were isolated incidents and we don't believe that students are in any danger of any sexual crimes on campus," she said.

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