The two Mark Morris High School students accused of sexually assaulting classmates pleaded not guilty to all charges Tuesday morning in Cowlitz County Juvenile Court.
Each suspect is charged with 11 criminal counts, including three counts of second-degree rape and five counts of unlawful imprisonment.
One suspect is 16 and the other is 17.
The 17-year-old defendant is represented by Dawn Farina of Puget Law Group. Meghan Dunlap of the Office of Public Defense is representing the 16-year-old.
The Daily News is not naming the suspects because they are minors being tried in juvenile court.
Megan H. Finch, deputy prosecuting attorney for Clark County, requested that the defendants have no contact with each other, and presiding Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Gary Bashor granted the request.
Finch also requested the juvenile defendants not have access to the internet, but later changed the request to no use of social media.
Bashor also granted that request to allow the suspects to attend online classes, but to prevent discussion of the case on social media.
During the hearing, a person sitting in the galley was recording the proceedings on her cell phone. Bashor was alerted of the filming and told the attendee to delete the footage.
A victim reported the sexual assaults began around Thanksgiving and continued through January when the student and others say the arrestees pulled them into the boys varsity basketball team's locker room at the school, according to the police report that led to the teens' arrests.
The Longview Police Department arrested the two students on Feb. 19, and both are out on bail.
The 17-year-old defendant has a pre-trail hearing on March 24, while the other has a scheduled hearing on April 23.
There are three no-contact victims for each of the victims to prevent the suspects from reaching out to them. However, the police report lists four victims, ages 14 through 17, who are Mark Morris students.
Clark County prosecutors are handling the case because Cowlitz County prosecutors said they knew people involved.
