Police in Glynn County, Georgia, announced Wednesday that charges are not off the table for the parents of the children involved in the abuse incident of Trenton Lehrkamp.
During a press conference, Glynn County Police Interim Chief O'Neal Jackson was asked about possible charges for the parents of the juveniles involved in the abuse incident of Lehrkamp after videos and photos circulated on social media showed the 19-year-old allegedly abused and unconscious.
"So we're not taking anything off the table. We're looking at this investigation from a holistic point of view," Jackson said. "Not only the parents that the home this occurred in, but we're also looking into where the alcohol was obtained from, as well as any type of narcotics."
The comments by Jackson come amid the ongoing investigation into the incident involving Lehrkamp, which was first reported by police on March 26.
On March 26, the Glynn County Police Department announced that they were investigating an incident involving Lehrkamp who was dropped off at a local hospital by three juveniles. "Lehrkamp was being treated due to a high level of intoxication, from a mixture of controlled substances and alcohol," the Glynn County Police Department said in a press release.
According to the March 26 update, officers conducted a search warrant of a residence on St. Simons Island, which is where the incident involving Lehrkamp occurred. Officers also conducted interviews with several juvenile individuals.
Amid the investigation, photos and videos of Lehrkamp circulated on social media and appeared to show the 19-year-old covered in spray paint. The images also depicted Lehrkamp unconscious. However, police said, "It has been determined by detectives, the videos which have surfaced on social media are of a prior incident involving the victim and are not pertaining to this current incident."
During the press conference on Wednesday, Jackson confirmed that police had identified all the juvenile individuals involved and they are continuing to investigate.
Jackson also explained that police are currently investigating two separate incidents involving Lehrkamp, including one where images showed him appearing unconscious in a chair and another of him being shot with a water hose.
Two days ago, a rally was held outside the hospital where Lehrkamp remains organized by Theawanza Brooks, a local activist and aunt of Ahmaud Arbery, who was murdered in a hate crime three years ago.
Brooks told reporters: "It is very important that [Trent] knows he has more friends than them."
She added: "From what we know, Trent lost his mom, but if he looks outside this afternoon he will see he has got a lot of mommas out here. He got some grandmommas out here, he has got some people he can actually trust."
Now, Jackson warned of possible misinformation surrounding the case and how it could hamper the investigation.
"As of today, investigators with the Glynn County Police Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigations continue to look into social media posts that have been supplied to the office. While we do appreciate the information provided by this source, there has been some misinformation that has spread via this medium as well," Jackson said. "Some of which to include the misidentification of individuals that were not involved in this incident, which has affected many families here in our local community."
Newsweek reached out to the Glynn County Police Department for further comment via email.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
