BILLINGS- A Billings high school student charged with five counts of felony sexual assault without consent is suspended from school and has been placed into an ‘alternative setting,’ School District 2 Superintendent Greg Upham said Monday.
Brayden Pond, 17, was charged in Yellowstone County District Court for allegedly raping five teenage girls in 2017.
Now officials with School District 2 are also launching an investigation of their own into the allegations against Pond.
Upham told Q2 News Monday evening that as soon as he heard about the sexual assault case over the weekend, he called for an external investigator. He said moving forward, student safety is his biggest concern.
“We are very concerned about this. Student safety is our priority, and it’s the most important thing we can do. So that’s what we will work toward. If anything that we do, moving forward and looking back it’s student safety,” said Upham.
According to court documents filed in Yellowstone County District Court, Pondis accused of raping or sexually assaulting five different teenage girls, during five incidents spanning from February 2017 to May 2017.
Superintendent Upham declined to comment on questions about Pond’s time attending either Skyview High School or Senior High School and simply said Pond has been suspended for his safety and the safety of his victims.
Pond is being charged as an adult and is scheduled to make an appearance on Sept. 4. Due to Pond’s age, there could be a transfer hearing to juvenile court in the case. That hearing is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 13 in Yellowstone County.
Upham could not give a timeline for the district’s investigation.
