Athlete accused of assaulting teenage classmate in Bradley County

BRADLEY COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) – The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office says they are investigating an assault involving two Bradley County Students.

They say a report was filed about the assault Wednesday. In the report, it says a video shows 18 year old Dionte Ware assaulting a 16 year old.

The Sheriff’s office says the video was shown to an SRO and then the case was turned over to them.

The officer wrote, in the report obtained by News 12 on Thursday, that he was dispatched to the Bradley County Juvenile Center where an officer with the Cleveland Police Department wanted to report about a video that was shown to him.

The officer says that he believes the video shows Dionte Ware assaulting a 16-year-old classmate from Cleveland High School.

The SRO says that the assault happened in August of 2018.

Adam Lewis, Director of Media & Public Relations for the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office, says “We have not been able to definitively confirm who took the video or the individuals in the video that is something that an ongoing investigation will determine but it does appear that they are high school students.”

The sheriff’s office says, “Anytime we are dealing with a minor we have to be careful what information is being released. Parents are much more heavily involved in questioning and determining the facts.”

The Sheriff’s office says they are in the beginning stages of confirming that it is Ware, but the officer who wrote the report says it is Ware and was able to identify the address and homeowner where it happened.

A counselor says that some good will come from the recording of this video.

“I think that actually it can be seen as a blessing instead of something that I need to be ashamed of… this is something that… I wish that they had come to her rescue and had helped her right there instead of her having to endure that abuse,” says Glyndora Condon.

She believes the person who recorded this video should be held responsible as well.

“Unfortunately our culture is to… People just feel like filming it is doing the service when you need to get in there.”

She says, “at least they got that on camera and that is going to open this up to helpfully help with the culture, help the government and help people like me who are trying to reach out to these individuals and to be more aware that this is really going on.”

No arrests have been made. An investigator has been assigned and is meeting with those involved in the assault.

They are looking for potential witnesses to the assault.

Students who spoke with News 12 say a video was posted to social media.