After inviting four high school football players over for “group sex,” a teacher lied, claiming the teens drugged and raped her, police say.
Brianna Walker of New Smyrna, Florida, was a 23-year-old athletic trainer at Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange when she said four high school football players drugged and raped her. Two years later, however, the former teacher would be the one facing charges after police say she falsified information and offered alcohol to minors, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
Walker, who moved to Minnesota after the incident, pleaded not guilty to both misdemeanor charges. According to Attorney Mary Jane Nettles, her client denies any criminal activity. The police report tells a much different story, though, alleging four high school football players — two 17-year-olds and two 18-year-olds — went to Walker’s home for consensual group sex with the former teacher.
Two days after the incident, Walker went to the police, claiming she had been drugged and raped by the boys. The police report said the teacher was fuzzy on some of the details, but she told investigators she did not consent to sex with all four teens. She was, however, unsure whether she consented to sex with one of them. A few days later, she resigned from her position at the high school and moved to St. Paul, Minnesota.
Walker’s story began to fall apart when her toxicology report was negative for any date-rape drugs. The investigation also found that the teacher had an alleged history of flirtatious behavior towards students, according to AP News. After calling the sex consensual, authorities continued to investigate other possible crimes that may have occurred that night.
Walker admitted to drinking whiskey, telling police that she had two alcoholic drinks before the players arrived at her home and a third while they were there. She also admitted to smoking marijuana with the students, WFTV reported. In addition, she said she allowed the “juveniles to partake in alcoholic consumption provided by her,” according to the police report. She said she did not know how much the teens drank, but all four boys denied accepting Walker’s offer of alcohol.
Of the four boys, only one’s mother wished to pursue criminal charges against Walker. East Ridge High School, where Walker was assigned after moving to Minnesota and being hired by Summit Orthopedics, sent a message to families after the teacher was charged in Florida. It stated that the school parted ways with Walker when they became aware of the allegations against her. Summit Orthopedics also issued a statement.
“Summit Orthopedics places the safety of our patients, student-athletes, and staff at the forefront of all we do,” the statement from Walker’s employer said. “We recently became aware of the charges against Ms. Brianna Walker and we respect the due process afforded to anyone in the legal system. Given this is a confidential personnel matter, we will not be discussing any further details. As a reminder, we will always place the safety of our patients, athletes, and staff first.”
Brianna Walker and her attorney, however, maintain that she’s innocent. “Ms. Walker denies any criminal behavior on her part and has pled not guilty to the charges,” Attorney Nettles said, according to KSTP 5. “It is frankly outrageous that the government has chosen to pursue charges against her simply because of this being a ‘he said, she said’ situation.”
“Experts will tell you that the trauma associated with a sexual assault will render a victim unable to give accurate details even when the reporting is done immediately after the assault,” Nettles continued, defending her client. “It is not uncommon for a victim, in the process of trying to accurately and truthfully relate what happened, to give different versions during the next few days after an event. This is partly because the victim knows that she will be blamed for it happening in the first place and begins to question her recollection of events.”
“This does not mean that an assault did not occur,” Nettles alleged. “Women have a hard enough time as it is reporting these types of acts of violence. The publicity surrounding this matter will undoubtedly make other victims refuse to report and will serve to enable abusers to repeat their criminal conduct with impunity.”
The police investigation reached a much different conclusion than Walker’s attorney. Although the boys were all cleared of the rape accusations, they still suffered the consequences of Brianna Walker’s allegations. The father of one of the football players involved stepped forward to reveal the price his son paid for being falsely accused. According to Dan Diacont Sr, the full scholarship his son had earned to play football at Clarke University was revoked.
By her own admission, Brianna Walker is guilty of wrong-doing. It’s not appropriate for an adult, in a position of authority at school, to have sex with students, whether consensual or not. An adult should not give alcohol and drugs to minors, either. The boys, who were all found innocent, suffered consequences, and the teacher involved should face them too. As for calling this a “he said, she said” situation, Walker herself said she had sex with at least one of the boys willingly, supplied the teens with alcohol, and smoked pot with them. Shouldn’t she be held accountable?
