Police Blotter

Students indicted on sexual assault charges

Two Greenbrier High School students were indicted Wednesday on sexual assault charges by a Columbia County grand jury, and four juveniles were charged Thursday in the same incident.

Reginald Anthony "Reggie" Rice III and Shadrick Marquie "Shad" Harris, both 17, were arrested by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office and are being held without bond at the Columbia County Detention Center, sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said.

Rice, a senior, is a star running back/linebacker for the Greenbrier football team, and Harris, a junior, is a starting wingback/cornerback.

Three girls, all younger than 16, were listed as victims in the indictment, which accuses Rice, of the 400 block of Louisville Road in Grovetown, of the rape of one girl and the aggravated child molestation of another.

Harris, of the 3300 block of Ray Owens Road in Appling, was indicted on three counts of aggravated child molestation with two girls.

The teens also are charged with three misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, accused of giving alcohol to both the alleged sexual assault victims and one other girl, according to the indictment.

The incidents reportedly occurred late Sept. 17 and early Sept. 18, District Attorney Danny Craig said. A parent of one of the girls reported the incidents to police about a week later, Capt. Morris said.

"An investigation is still ongoing," he said.

On Thursday morning, a 16-year-old Grovetown boy was charged with statutory rape in the incident, and the three girls - a 15-year-old and two 14-year-olds - were charged with fornication. All are Greenbrier High students, and all remain in the custody of their parents.

An investigative narrative in the case reports that the three girls left one of their mother's homes without permission and were picked up by the 16-year-old, who took them to "a barn-type structure" behind the boy's home where the incidents occurred.