Wayzata police: Alleged sex assault involving Providence Academy teens happened during house party

The reported sexual assault involving a teenage boy attending Providence Academy and a fellow student occurred during a house party attended by other juveniles in Wayzata, the police chief said Thursday.

The alleged assault occurred on Oct. 14 and involved a boy in his early teens as the suspect and a high school-age girl as the victim, Police Chief Marc Schultz told the Star Tribune.

In a follow-up interview, Schultz said there "was a gathering of juveniles" in the home at the time. "I would call it a party," he added.

Police have yet to confirm whether there was any adult supervision, the chief said, repeating his frustrations that the investigation has been hindered by a lack of cooperation from people who could have useful information.

An arrest has yet to be made in an investigation Schultz described as his department's top priority.

"Eventually, should we gather enough evidence to support a charge, we would definitely do that," the chief said. "Given the seriousness of the allegations, I hope to have something wrapped up sooner than later. ... But there is so much time that has passed, [and] some of the folks involved, whether they are juveniles or the parents of juveniles, they are apprehensive right now."

Schultz said police received a phone call on Nov. 10 "from a concerned party" about the alleged assault involving students who attend the school in Plymouth. He declined to offer any specifics about the suspected assault itself or say who owns the home.

Providence Academy Headmaster Todd Flanders, in an email to families of students, said the school was first alerted to the incident on Nov. 9, one day before police were notified.

Flanders' note also said multiple students "were involved in serious violations" of the school's policies and code of conduct. The note did not specify the nature of the violations.

Flanders also released a statement to the news media that read in part: "We took swift and decisive actions after our internal investigation. The specifics of school discipline of individual students, minors in this case, is not a matter I can elaborate on.

"I am confident in the school's approach with each individual student. And everything is in keeping with our policies and code."

Providence Academy, founded in 2001, is a private Catholic college preparatory school for students from prekindergarten through 12th grade. As of the 2020-21 school year, the school has roughly 820 students who come from 72 communities, according to its website.