Puyallup girl says she was sexually assaulted by trans wrestler during match
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- A Rogers High School sophomore accused her opponent of inappropriate touching.
- The alleged assailant, during the December match, was a transgender girl, a report says.
- The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the allegation, an official confirmed.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a Puyallup high school wrestler’s claim she was sexually assaulted during a match against a transgender opponent in early December, as the school district faces accusations it failed to take action.
A school resource officer assigned to the Puyallup School District didn’t learn of the incident until Jan. 30, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Carly Cappetto told The News Tribune on Monday. The officer reviewed video from the match, followed up with the alleged victim and her mother on Feb. 3, and submitted the matter to the Sheriff’s Office’s sexual-assault unit, according to Cappetto.
Cappetto, who noted the alleged wrongful activity couldn’t be seen on video, said that the investigation remained active and there was still much to do.
The alleged assault against a 16-year-old Rogers High School sophomore was detailed Monday by commentator Brandi Kruse. The teenager said that her opponent, who attends a school within the district, had pressed fingers into her vagina intentionally while on top of her during a match on Dec. 6, according to a report on Kruse’s “unDivided” website.
Kruse published a 17-second video clip, which the sophomore’s mother recorded, that includes the moment in the match the girl said she was violated. The Rogers student appears startled and uncomfortable — judging from facial reactions she makes in the direction of her mother — when her opponent’s left arm goes between her legs. It remains there for about seven seconds as the two continue wrestling. The alleged hand contact can’t be seen because it’s obstructed from the camera’s view by the wrestlers.
A message left Tuesday with the mother, seeking to speak with her and her daughter, was not returned by 5 p.m. Wednesday. The News Tribune isn’t naming the teen — even though her identity was revealed in Kruse’s story — because she is a minor and an alleged victim of a sex crime.
The News Tribune could not reach the family of the wrestler accused of sexual assault and isn’t naming her because she is a minor and has not been charged with a crime.
The Rogers student notified her coach about the incident, and her mother emailed coaches two days after the match, according to the report in unDivided. One coach responded on Dec. 8 and indicated they would look into it but never followed up, and the school didn’t notify law enforcement until after Kruse reached out to the district for comment late last month, the report said.
In a statement Tuesday, Puyallup School District spokesperson Sarah Gillispie said the district couldn’t share details or discuss specifics because the matter is under investigation.
“What we can say is that student safety is a top priority and that all reports involving student safety are taken seriously,” Gillispie said.
The area’s three Republican state lawmakers weighed in on Wednesday, noting that school personnel have a legal responsibility to immediately report suspected child abuse or neglect to the state. The joint statement came from Sen. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup; Rep. Cyndy Jacobsen, R-Puyallup; and Rep. Michael Keaton, R-South Hill.
“In light of these allegations, the school district must be completely open and accountable for anything that occurred and hold accountable anyone who intentionally failed to act or who covered up any allegations,” the lawmakers said.
Each lawmaker also expressed support in their statement for “prohibiting biological male students from competing with and against female students.”
The reported assault has provided fuel to critics of allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports, an issue that has been politicized and hotly contested nationally. The alleged victim didn’t learn her opponent was transgender until after the match and planned to notify a coach about the incident regardless, according to the report in unDivided.
Let’s Go Washington, a conservative political group pushing a 2026 ballot initiative to ban transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports, said in a news release Monday that state leaders were putting girls in a position of having to defend themselves.
“How many young women have to be assaulted, violated, bullied, mocked, or even sued before the state takes action to protect them?” Let’s Go Washington founder Brian Heywood said in a statement. “While Governor (Bob) Ferguson and (State Superintendent) Chris Reykdal pretend that situations like this ‘aren’t happening,’ female athletes who are victims of sexual assault are being silenced.”
Katy Payne, a spokesperson for the state’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, told The News Tribune on Wednesday that the office understood the matter was with law enforcement and hoped it would soon be resolved.
“Any student who feels that they were assaulted in a school-sanctioned activity should feel safe to come forward, and school districts are required to have procedures in place for responding to and taking action on these allegations,” Payne said.
The News Tribune reached out to Ferguson’s office but did not get an immediate response Wednesday.
Let’s Go Washington’s two initiatives, including one focused on parental rights in education, have received pushback from a group composed of teachers, students, parents and residents. The group, Washington Families for Freedom, has called the sports measure “anti-trans” and expressed concern that it would put kids at risk, including exposure to possible abuse or being forcibly outed, The News Tribune previously reported.
Twenty-seven states have banned transgender youth from participating in school sports since 2020, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which has argued that laws categorically excluding transgender kids from sports are discriminatory and make schools less safe for all youth.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Education announced it would be investigating Tacoma Public Schools for alleged discrimination on the basis of sex, related to permitting transgender participation in sports, The News Tribune previously reported. The district was one of 18 educational entities in the United States announced as the subject of a Title IX probe at the time, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
It followed a federal probe launched in May 2025 into Washington state’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, in part, over transgender athletes’ participation in girls’ sports. In response, Reykdal called the investigation the latest shot in a “dangerous war” against transgender and gender-expansive people.
This story was originally published February 12, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
