Transgender teen could face charges for making up assault story

Police say they have not yet decided whether to recommend filing charges against a Northern California transgender teen who made up a story about being sexually assaulted and beaten in a school bathroom.

The 15-year-old recanted his claim about the alleged Monday attack after investigators informed him there was little to no evidence to back it up, said Det. Connie Van Putten of the Hercules Police Department.

“We were unable to substantiate any of the statements he made,” Van Putten said, adding police did not find any injuries to the boy that would have corroborated the attack and that a sexual assault examination had been performed.

The student, who has not been identified, could now face charges for filing a false police report, according to the San Jose Mercury News. The transgender student is biologically female but identifies as a male.

“At this point, we have not decided,” Van Putten said. “He would be referred to the juvenile justice system.”

Some have speculated that there might be more to the story.

Tiffany Woods, transgender program manager at Tri-City Health Center in Fremont, said “transgender students don’t tend to fabricate stories like this and bring scrutiny onto themselves,” according to the Mercury News.

“There’s more to the story that is obviously not being reported, but I don’t think we know yet.”

The incident reignited debate over a law passed last year that requires school districts to allow transgender students to participate in programs and use facilities, such as bathrooms and locker rooms, based on their gender identity instead of their biological gender.

Woods worries that opponents of the law will use the incident to try to change it.

“Anyone can go into the restroom they choose and make up something,” she said. “Everybody is going to try to spin this for their own agenda.”

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ari.bloomekatz@latimes.com