STEVENSVILLE — The assault of a Stevensville teenager has grabbed the community's attention, especially online.
So much so that Ravalli County authorities are addressing the situation by telling people to leave affected parties alone.
"Really, what it boils down to is this issue of civility in our society. And it's really time to take a step back and look at look at how we behave online," Ravalli County Sheriff Steve Holton told MTN.
Court documents detail that while at a party on September 12, a Stevensville teen was assaulted repeatedly over the course of three hours.
Documents allege that an adult, Jessica McKay, witnessed the beating and then drove the injured teen home, leaving him in his driveway.
"The incident itself is horrific enough and there's a lot of investigation left to do," Holton said.
Much has circulated on social media about the incident, including personal information and threats, leading to the victim’s mother contacting Sheriff Holton.
"She was just really concerned about the threats of violence and made it very clear to me that that's not what the family wants. You know, they're trying to heal and move forward. And so her real concern was that something worse was going to happen," Holton explained.
The teens involved are students at the Stevensville School District, which declined to comment due to the investigation.
Two teens in the incident have been charged as adults with aggravated assaults. MTN is not identifying the juveniles involved due to their age.
McKay has been charged with criminal endangerment and aggravated assault by accountability. She has posted a $25,000 bond.
"There's a process. People have the constitutional right to be innocent until proven guilty. And everybody should have a fair and impartial trial and process as we move forward. And the victim's family recognizes that. And that's what they want," Holton said.
Holton says authorities can get involved if the situation escalates online.
"We have had numerous other cases where we've followed up on threats made on Facebook and criminal charges are sometimes applicable there," Holton stated.
MTN will continue to follow this case as it moves through the courts.
