Girl, family weigh move in Milton sex case

The father of the 15-year-old girl allegedly involved in a sexual incident at Milton Academy said last night that the family has not decided whether to recommend that prosecutors press charges against five varsity ice hockey players who allegedly received oral sex from the girl in a school locker room.

''We're still trying to get over what we found out," said the girl's father as he unloaded her bags and moved her home to New Hampshire. It is the Globe's policy not to identify victims in cases of potential sexual abuse nor their family members without their consent.

Three sophomores and two juniors, all members of the boys ice hockey team, were expelled from the private campus Friday, after a three-day school investigation found that they requested and received oral sex from a schoolmate Jan. 24.

The school placed the female student on an indefinite ''administrative leave" to give the family time to discuss what happened, a school spokeswoman said.

''We haven't decided what we're going to do yet," her father said, as the slender teen, her hair pulled back in a bun, arrived home with her parents last night. She appeared in good spirits.

''She'll be fine," her father said.

Police were notified of the incident by the school last Friday morning and are investigating. Milton Police Chief Kevin J. Mearn said yesterday that he expected police to have interviews with the five boys and the girl completed by the end of the week. Four of the boys are from out of state, one of them from Florida. Mearn declined to say if there were other witnesses to the incident but said police would be talking to others on campus about the incident.

Students at Milton Academy return to classes today for the first time since the incident became public Friday. Administrators said they are going to continue an open-door policy for students to talk with school administrators about any concerns they might have about the incident.

''We will meet with kids, acknowledge that it's been painful for us, painful for them," said Cathleen Everett, the school's spokeswoman.

Everett emphasized that sex education programs at the private academy are comprehensive and consistent, teaching respect and appropriate sexual relations, and may in fact go further than many public school programs.

''The behavior was an anomaly," she said. ''It's outside common norms. Unfortunately, adolescents make big mistakes."

The school's actions were explained to all students Friday in meetings with class deans, where students were allowed to ask questions.

On campus, parents of some Milton Academy students said there is anger toward the girl, blaming her for the expulsion of the five boys.

Under Massachusetts state law, an individual can be prosecuted for having sexual intercourse or ''unnatural sexual intercourse" with someone under 16, even if the sex is consensual.

Norfolk County District Attorney William R. Keating's office referred all questions about the matter to police yesterday.

Milton Academy, founded in 1798, has 680 students, kindergarten through 12th grade, both day students and boarders. Those who live at the school, in grades 9 through 12, represent 34 states and 16 countries and live in eight, single-sex ''houses." Tuition and room and board at the academy costs $32,725.

Globe Correspondent Jack Encarnacao contributed to this article.