Felony Rape Charge for Transgender (Male) Wrestler Referred to Prosecutor
Sheriff finds probable cause male competing for Emerald Ridge High School raped female competitor during girls wrestling match last Dec; 190-lb biological male scheduled to compete at State Thursday
UPDATE 7:51 pm — The WIAA confirms that the accused wrestler has withdrawn from the state tournament.
PIERCE COUNTY — A transgender (biological male) wrestler competing for the Emerald Ridge High School (ERHS) girls wrestling team is the subject of a felony rape charge referred to prosecutors by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office last week, J425 can exclusively report.
The charge of Rape in the Third Degree (RCW 9A.44.060) came after law enforcement investigated 16-year-old alleged victim Kallie Keeler’s report that she was sexually assaulted during a Dec. 5, 2025 girls wrestling match between Keeler’s Rogers High School and ERHS. Keeler wasn’t aware she was wrestling against a biological male until after the match.
J425 reported Keeler’s allegation last week, as well as reports that Puyallup School District ignored safety complaints lodged by 13 of the transgender wrestler’s female teammates. Both schools are part of the Puyallup School District.
Rape in the Third Degree is a Class C Felony that carries up to five years in prison, up to a $10,000 fine and mandatory sex offender registry upon conviction, — although juveniles convicted of Rape 3 typically face much lower penalties (15 - 36 weeks incarceration) and sex offender registry is usually waived, absent a specific finding that the youth is a “serious threat to public safety” or they have a prior sex offense. In most first-time cases, the duty to register is waived entirely to “reduce stigma” and aid in rehabilitation.
Undisputed with Brandi Kruse was first to report that Keeler and her parents told coaches and administrators of the incident verbally on December 6 and in writing on December 8. Kruse said that the Keeler’s received a promise of “due diligence.”
But law enforcement confirmed they didn’t receive a report until 54 days later.
“The Puyallup School District contacted our school resource officer at Rogers High School on January 30 and stated there was a video that needed to be reviewed due to allegations that were made,” said Deputy Carly Cappetto, with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.
Capetto said the criminal investigation included interviews with the alleged victim and her mother, as well as video of the alleged assault.
The minor named in the rape referral declined to participate in the investigation. The law protects minors from police interrogations when they haven’t talked to an attorney first.
Last week, upon the completion of the investigation, Cappetto confirmed that the sheriff’s office referred a rape charge to the prosecutor’s office.
The referral means that after investigating the report, law enforcement found facts and circumstances sufficient to believe a crime was committed. The standard for referring a charge to the prosecutor is “probable cause” — the same standard for an arrest or warrantless search.
In referring the charge, law enforcement is basically telling the prosecutor they’ve investigated the matter and believe it’s more likely than not that a crime was committed. The prosecutor must determine if they’ll be able to obtain a conviction, which requires a higher standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt”.
“This is not a cut and dry case and that’s why everything we have done is as far as we can go in the investigation, so it’s really going to be up to that prosecutor to make a decision on if they want to do any formal charges, if there is enough to prove a crime has happened,” said Cappetto.
However, for an organization like the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association, the completion of the criminal investigation and referral of charges is the best evidence they’ll get as they decide whether to let a biological male credibly accused of raping against a female competitor to compete in the girls wrestling state championship beginning this Thursday.
The Upcoming State Tournament: Will Girls Face Off Against Male Accused of Rape?
The 190-pound freshman competitor is a state-qualified girls wrestler and scheduled to compete in the WIAA’s “Mat Classic XXXVII”-- with matches beginning Thursday. J425 is not naming the minor, although we can confirm that they are currently listed on brackets for the upcoming state tournament.
Should the criminal investigation have resulted in the non-referral of charges, meaning that officers didn’t find probable cause that a crime was committed, WIAA’s decision would’ve come down to weighing the word of one 16-year-old girl (and the 13 ERHS teammates who lodged safety complaints) versus the state-guaranteed rights of a transgender wrestler to compete in the gender category which they identify.
However, given the fact that the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office forwarded a rape charge to the prosecutor, thus attesting to their belief that, after reviewing the facts and circumstance available, a reasonable person would believe a crime was committed, it’s hard to believe the WIAA would allow the accused wrestler to compete. It would seem law enforcement decided the thorny matter for the WIAA. One would assume the potential liability incurred … for insisting that a minor female competitor take part in sanctioned physical combat with a male wrestler named in a rape charge eminating from actions occuring during a WIAA-sanctioned match… would be outside the limits that any insurer much less any athletic organization… would be comfortable assuming, regardless of the political pressures tied to the match.
And the political pressure is considerable, given the competing interests of a state administration stressing the rights of athletes to compete under their self-professed gender identity, Notably, we haven’t seen many biological females arguing their right to compete against biological males. and a federal administration set on protecting females from biological males infringing on girls’ spaces and competitions.
Rape Referral Occurs as Feds Announce Directed Investigation
“The allegations in this case are sickening—that a female athlete was not only unknowingly forced to compete against a male in a girls-only division placing her at increased risk for sexual assault, but that her report of sexual assault during the match was ignored by Puyallup School District for months. While the District may prioritize ideological agendas over the safety and dignity of its students, the administration will not tolerate such conduct,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey.
The completion of the local criminal investigation was buried in the breaking news of a federal probe.
On Friday, Puyallup School District became the fifth district in Washington to come under federal Department of Education investigation for possible Title XI violations when the Office for Civil Rights announced a directed investigation into Puyallup School District’s practices.
Unlike the other four ongoing probes in Washington State, which were triggered in response to external complaints, Puyallup faces the much more serious “Directed Investigation”, initiated by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), a move typically reserved for systemic failures.
“The allegations in this case are sickening—that a female athlete was not only unknowingly forced to compete against a male in a girls-only division placing her at increased risk for sexual assault, but that her report of sexual assault during the match was ignored by Puyallup School District for months. While the District may prioritize ideological agendas over the safety and dignity of its students, the administration will not tolerate such conduct,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey.
The OCR outlined four specific legal pillars for the investigation, each tied to the alleged crime reported in Kallie Keeler’s allegation — and the district’s response to her report.
• Failure of Mandatory Reporting (The 54-Day Gap): Title IX requires schools to act “promptly and equitably” when they know or reasonably should know of sexual harassment or violence. The 54-day delay between the December 6 match and the police referral is a prima facie violation of the federal requirement to provide an “immediate” response to protect the victim.
• Facility Safety (Locker Room Access): The investigation is examining reports that the district allowed biological males to access female-only locker rooms despite “at least a dozen” complaints from female athletes prior to the assault. Under the current federal interpretation (reverting to the 2020 Title IX Rules), allowing biological males into female private spaces can be classified as creating a “hostile environment”.
• Athletic Fairness and Physical Risk: Federal investigators are looking into whether forcing a female athlete to compete against a biological male in a high-contact sport like wrestling constitutes “discrimination on the basis of sex” by placing the female at a distinct physical disadvantage and increased risk of injury.
• Deliberate Indifference: This is the highest legal hurdle. The OCR is investigating if school leaders were “deliberately indifferent”—meaning they knew there was a risk of harm but chose a policy of “gender-inclusivity” over the safety of the female students.
Delays Equate to Deliberate Indifference?
As J425 reported last week, the Puyallup School District sat on Keeler’s report that she was digitally penetrated by her opponent to the extent that she cried out to her mother and ceased competing. It was only after the match’s completion that Keeler was told she’d competed against a biological male.
J425’s previous reporting details how a coach told Keeler’s parents they wouldn’t have let her wrestle if they knew the opponent was a boy. J425 also detailed the fact that 13 of the transgender wrestler’s teammates lodged safety complaints with ERHS administration.
Despite the fact that an initial complaint brought to the ERHS principal by four members of the girls wrestling team was met with action — Principal Crow wrote parents indicating that he understood the girls’ concerns and would provide an alternate dressing room for transgender (male) competitors. But after just one day away, the males reinserted themselves in the girls’ locker rooms, an act that resulted in a total of 13 female wrestlers meeting with the building administrators about safety concerns tied to sharing a changing room with a male accused of sexually assaulting a fellow female wrestler.
This time, their concerns were met with inaction and a gender theory handout: a drawing of a sexless stick figure surrounded by politicized gender theory terminology.
On January 30, after learning that Undivided with Brandi Kruse intended to report on the sexual assault allegation, the Puyallup School District forwarded a complaint to law enforcement — the 54-day delay in action raising immediate concerns that district personnel may have violated state mandatory reporting law that requires public school officials in receipt of an alleged abuse against a student to report the incident to law enforcement within 48 hours.
Title IX—the 1972 law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools—is being applied in this case through a “safety and fairness” lens that directly challenges Washington’s state-level gender-identity policies.
On January 14, 2026, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) launched a wave of 18 investigations nationwide. This included four Washington districts:
• Cheney Public Schools
• Sultan School District No. 311
• Tacoma Public Schools
• Vancouver Public Schools
The Standard: These are complaint-led investigations. They were triggered by specific individuals (likely parents or advocacy groups) filing formal grievances regarding the districts’ policies on gender identity in sports. In these cases, the OCR is acting as a “referee” to determine if the complaints have merit.
State’s “Gender Identity Participation” Policy Under Scrutiny
The 190-pound ERHS transgender (male) student is competing as a girls wrestler under the state’s transgender athletic policy, which allows high school athletes to compete under the gender classification which they personally identify.
The policy is grounded in state law, RCW 28A.642.010, which prohibits discrimination in Washington public schools on the basis of “sexual orientation including gender expression or identity.”
The WIAA — an association governed by a board of public school administrators — interpreted this state law via Rule 18.27.0 Gender Identity Participation, which finds that “All students have the opportunity to participate in WIAA activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student’s records.”
The WIAA Representative Assembly voted last year on a proposed amendment that would have restricted girls’ sports to “biological females.” The amendment failed to pass, meaning Rule 18.27.0 remains the active standard for the 2025–26 school year. Even if the measure passed, it would’ve conflicted with state law.
However, when the transgender wrestler in question is credibly accused of assaulting a competitor, WIAA’s core responsibilities likely outweigh so called “gender equity” concerns.
The WIAA’s primary legal and ethical obligations are defined in its Health & Wellness and Code of Ethics sections. Under WIAA Rule 17.1.0, the association is responsible for providing a “safe and healthy environment” for participants. This includes managing risks of injury and protecting athletes from “harmful behavior to physical or mental well-being”.
Further, federal laws including The “Safe Sport Act” require sports organizations to protect minors from sexual abuse. Forcing a minor girl to compete against a male credibly accused of raping a previous competitor could seemingly open the WIAA up to a world of federal litigation as well.
Kevin Thomas Hulten is a 22-time WNPA awardee and a LION Journalistic Impact Award finalist. Before launching J425 in 2021, Hulten held various jobs including the Managing Editor of the Lake Stevens Journal, Government Affairs Lead at Socrata, senior political staff for the Snohomish County Executive and a state senate committee chairman. Kevin is also a strategic affairs consultant whose wins include launching the Washington Aerospace Training and Research Center and advocated for the siting of a University of Washington campus in the 425. A native of Kailua, HI, Hulten grew up in Lake Stevens and was a three time editor of the Lake Stevens High School Valhalla before learning his craft at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism in Tempe, AZ. He has a Golden Retriever, Piper. Follow Kevin on X (425kev).