WRESTLERS CHARGED WITH RAPE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 8, 1993                   TAG: 9304080142
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
WRESTLERS CHARGED WITH RAPE
Two championship wrestlers from Franklin County High School were arrested Wednesday on charges of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl during the state wrestling tournament in February.
Derrick Poindexter, 18, and Thomas Simmons, 19, were indicted on rape and sodomy charges by a Richmond grand jury on Monday.
They were taken into custody Wednesday morning after turning themselves in at the Richmond Police Department.
Simmons was being held in jail Wednesday afternoon in lieu of a $30,000 bond. Poindexter was held without bond.
Simmons was the Roanoke Valley District and Northwest Region champion this year at 145 pounds. Poindexter was the Roanoke Valley District's top 160-pound wrestler.
The girl, also from Franklin County, said the two wrestlers attacked her at the Richmond motel where the team stayed during the tournament.
"At this point there are no additional charges," said Lt. A.J. Scott, who heads the Richmond Police Department's youth enforcement unit.
The team's coach, Kris Kahila, and seven students associated with the team have been disciplined by school authorities.
Sources said the disciplinary action resulted from student beer-drinking. Kahila was disciplined for not properly supervising the students.
"It is a sad time, and we have to deal with this," Kahila said Wednesday. "Personally, it's been rough. The judicial system is going to have to handle it now."
Kahila declined to comment on how he learned of the alleged rape and whether he had considered resigning because of it.
"A lot of things go through your mind," he said. "It is a very sad time for me."
Kahila has been one of the most successful wrestling coaches in Western Virginia. This year's Franklin County team won its second consecutive Northwestern Region title and finished fourth in the state team tournament, its best-ever showing.
A spokeswoman for Franklin County School Superintendent Leonard Gereau said he was unavailable to answer telephone calls Wednesday afternoon.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB