October 17, 2022
Dear MUSD Families,
Over the weekend the community was made aware of a suspected sexual assault in the wooded area off of McKinleyville Avenue, behind the high school. The press release from the HCSO is attached below with details that are known at this time.
I’m writing to you tonight because student safety is important to all of us at McKinleyville Union School District. We encourage you to talk to your children about their personal safety, including avoiding wooded or isolated areas, especially when they are alone. It can be difficult to keep a healthy balance between warning our children and not scaring them. Here are some resources to help you navigate these challenging conversations.
- A guide for talking to kids about strangers and safety from Scholastic: https://www.scholastic.com/parents/family-life/social-emotional-learning/social-skills-for-kids/talking-about-stranger-safety.html
- A guide for talking to students about violence. This guide is from the National Association of School Psychologists and is specifically focused on violence at school. However, the guidance for helping kids feel safe is applicable to most situations that involve harm: https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-safety-and-crisis/school-violence-resources/talking-to-children-about-violence-tips-for-parents-and-teachers
- RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) provides resources for victims of and resources to help prevent sexual violence. There are many helpful articles for families: https://www.rainn.org/articles/talking-your-kids-about-sexual-assault
We understand that some of our students may be personally impacted by this incident. If your child needs extra support in the coming days and weeks, please reach out to your site principal to let them know.
Take care,
Ms. Julie, Superintendent
This is a press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
On October 14th, 2022, at about 10:00 PM, the Sheriff’s Office received a report of a possible juvenile sexual assault in a wooded area near McKinleyville High School. Deputies responded to investigate and learned the incident had occurred several hours prior to the report. The Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Division was called to assist in the investigation.
The alleged suspect was described as a Hispanic or Native American male who appeared to be in his thirties. He was approximately 5’9” – 5’10” in height and had a physically fit build. He had dark wavy shoulder length hair and a full beard, and was wearing a camouflage jacket, black sweatpants, and white shoes. He was also wearing a purple bracelet and carrying a blue hiking style backpack.
Deputies have been and are continuing to conduct patrol checks of the area but have been unable to locate the suspect. The Sheriff’s Office has been in contact with officials from the McKinleyville High School and notified them of the investigation.
The investigation is ongoing and as further information is developed it will be released to the public.
Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.