Blue state prosecutors are refusing to bring charges against a transgender-identifying biological accused of sexually assaulting a girl during an athletic competition. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit last week against Washington state officials “who placed gender ideology above” the safety of high school wrestler Kallie Keeler, who was allegedly sexually assaulted during a wrestling match against a biological male in December. Keeler was 15 at the time the incident occurred.

According to ADF, neither Keeler nor her mother was made aware that the teenage girl’s opponent was a biological male who identified as transgender. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) and various school officials, however, were aware and did not inform either Keeler or her mother. Had Keeler been made aware, the lawsuit affirms, she would not have competed against the opponent.

“But because she didn’t know, she wrestled,” the lawsuit says. During the wrestling match, Keeler’s biological male opponent sexually assaulted her, “shoving his fingers through her spandex clothing, digitally penetrating her vagina, and holding the position for several seconds.” In video footage recorded by Keeler’s mother, the teenage girl’s face can be seen looking up in shock and pain as she cried out, telling her mother what was happening. Keeler gave up trying to win the match and, at least a full minute later, her opponent sexually assaulted her again, groping her. After the match ended, Keeler avoided her own coaches and “ran to her mother sobbing.” The lawsuit charges, “This is not a legal wrestling move, and it is not something that could easily happen accidentally.”

“The first shock came when Kallie learned that the wrestler who had sexually assaulted her was a male. Besides the violation, she now felt betrayed by the adults who had allowed her to unknowingly wrestle a boy,” ADF President Kristin Waggoner said of the incident. “The second shock unfolded slowly, as the [school] district quietly abandoned Kallie. Her mom reported the assault the next school day. Officials should have reported it to the Title IX coordinator immediately and law enforcement within 48 hours. Instead they did nothing — for 53 days.”

The Pallyup School District did not report the incident against Keeler to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office (as required by state law within 48 hours of being notified of the assault) until after Keeler and her mother shared the story with local news outlets. “Sadly, the media attention also caused harassment & bullying for Kallie at school. School officials have been unsympathetic and unsupportive,” Waggoner shared. “Because she can no longer trust them to protect her, Kallie has now quit wrestling — a sport she’s loved since she was 4 years old,” she continued. “Kallie’s story exposes a grim reality about the political and academic establishment in WA. From the highest level to the lowest, officials have displayed a knowing, callous disregard for the safety and equal opportunity of girls.”

Now that law enforcement authorities have been involved, however, officials are still evincing that “knowing, callous disregard for the safety and equal opportunity of girls.” According to Seattle-based KOMO News, prosecutors are not bringing charges against Keeler’s alleged assailant, arguing that they could not convincingly argue that the finger-rape was nonconsensual under state law.

“[I]t’s clear that any potential charges could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, so I cannot proceed further with charging this matter. The context of this case, occurring in a wrestling match, makes proving beyond a reasonable doubt highly unlikely,” a deputy prosecutor wrote to a sheriff’s office detective in a memo obtained by KOMO News. “The biggest barrier to charging this case is the case law concerning consent in athletic contests,” the prosecutor continued, claiming that by consenting to participate in the wrestling match, Keeler implicitly consented to physical contact, so that even if prosecutors could convince a jury that vaginal penetration did occur, they would not argue that it was nonconsensual. “I have no doubt that the victim did not want any penetration to occur, but unfortunately, that is not the definition of consent to which we are legally bound.” (Emphasis original.)

“We can’t prove Rape 3 at trial. Even if we could prove penetration beyond a reasonable doubt (which I think is doubtful given the witness statements), we cannot overcome a consent defense,” the prosecutor wrote. “Any harmful and offensive touching/penetration was a direct by-product of the game, and this type of behavior is sufficiently common as to be foreseeable. We are bound by the standard established for prosecutors,” he continued, failing to address the fact that Keeler did not consent to wrestling a biological male. “No reasonable court would convict this suspect at a bench trial given the obvious defense of consent. I am aware that the suspect is apparently a transgender individual, but that has no bearing on my charging decision…”

The U.S. Department of Education (DOE), under President Donald Trump, announced in February that it had launched an investigation into the Pallyup School District over the incident and potential Title IX violations. “The Trump Administration will not tolerate this conduct,” the DOE asserted in a social media post.