The FBI has joined an investigation into alleged bullying, torture and hazing after a student was left in need of intensive care treatment.
Georgia high-schooler Trent Lehrkamp was dropped off at a hospital emergency room last week in a seriously bad condition, having been given dangerous quantities of alcohol, as well as being urinated on and covered in spray paint.
Angry crowds have gathered outside the hospital in protest, demanding that action be taken against Trent’s alleged abusers.
Hundreds of people have turned up to ask for legal action against the students at Glynn Academy High School who many accuse of being responsible for Trent’s condition.
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The 19-year-old was brought to the hospital with a blood alcohol level of 0.46 – which is very high – and has been placed onto a ventilator in the intensive care unit, according to the authorities.
At the latest update, he is awake and 'stable' but still in the intensive care unit.
So far, no charges have been brought in the case, but local police have said that the FBI and other agencies are involved in their investigations.
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Trent’s father Mark told the police that his son had been being bullied by the same group of boys in their area – St Simon’s Island – repeatedly for some time.
He said that his son had continued to hang around with the alleged bullies because he ‘has no other friends’.
There was further outrage after some pictures that purported to show the abuse were shared on social media, including one of a boy who appears to be Trent sitting in a chair with a hose pointed at him, as well as another showing a boy unconscious in a chair with four boys standing in the background giving one-fingered salutes.
His father said that Trent had been to the same place just a few days before and came home covered in ‘WD-40, vomit, paint, glue, egg yolk, and spray paint’, according to court documents.
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The teenagers who brought Trent to the emergency room last week gave those on shift their names and phone numbers, but left the hospital before the police actually arrived.
Local media reports that Trent – who is a graduate of Glynn Academy – lost his mother at the age of 43 just a couple of years ago. She died at the same hospital her son is now receiving treatment in.
In an update, his family said: "The anguish he suffered, it’s sure to be a long recovery…emotionally and mentally as well.
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"He is stable, but still in the ICU recovering and fighting through some lung infection from the aspiration.
"He is still lightly sedated as he is very panicked and anxious when awake.
"The family was able to talk via phone this evening."
Crowds have be gathering outside that hospital holding candles and trying to demand that those responsible for Trent’s injuries be brought to justice.
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The investigation is ongoing.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to pay for Trent's medical care.
You can donate to that here.
Tom Wood