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An alleged sexual assault of a Maryland School for the Deaf student has prompted officials at the school to review their dorm safety policies and procedures.

News of the review came out Thursday, a day after the Frederick Police Department charged four students with allegedly sexually assaulting a fellow student in his dorm room in October.

Maryland School for the Deaf Superintendent James E. Tucker sent a letter to parents informing them about the charges. He also informed parents that the school will form four parent-teacher committees to review the policies and security procedures for the middle and high school dorms.

The committee will include three parents and will review all aspects of the Student Life programs and policies at the school, wrote Tucker, who encouraged parents to take part in the initiative.

"I wish to incorporate MSD parents/guardians perspective and input to this process," Tucker wrote in his letter. "I cannot reiterate this often enough that the health and safety of all MSD students is always our highest priority."

The alleged sexual assault that prompted the review happened on Oct. 28.

According to a report prepared by Detective Thomas Torkarz of the Frederick Police Department, all students involved in the incident, including the victim, lived in the same dorm – Foxwell Moylan Hall.

The alleged incident happened in the victim's dorm room, where he was held down by a group of students and sexually assaulted with a plastic bottle of Mountain Dew and a bottle of Purell sanitizer, according to the police report.

The group also used sanitizer to spray the victim, causing him pain, the victim told police.

It started as a game, with a group of boys wrestling and joking around, the victim told police, according to the report. But then a group of boys pinned down the victim and held him while he was being sexually assaulted, the report states.

Police investigated the incident, and were able to identify four students they believe were responsible for the assault.

Three of the students are 17 and their names have not been released. The fourth student allegedly involved is Tyler Daniel Dilks, 20, of Harford County.

Police said they interviewed Dilks, who said he grabbed the victim and pulled his pants down. Many of the boys were laughing and playing around, Dilks told police.

When the victim told Dilks he was in pain, Dilks advised him to go to the infirmary, according to the police report.

The victim was treated at Frederick Memorial Hospital the night of the incident and released the next morning, police said.

As a result of the incident, police have charged all four students with fourth-degree sex offense, second-degree assault, and conspiracy to commit each of those offenses.

All charges are misdemeanors, said Lt. Shawn Martyak of the Frederick Police Department.

The three 17-year-old students – a Frederick resident and two Baltimore residents – have been charged as juveniles.

Dilks has been charged as an adult, and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 12. The report does not list a lawyer for Dilks, and an attempt to reach him through a phone number listed on the report was not successful.

Martyak said all four have been issued a criminal summons, meaning they have been charged with the crimes, but were not arrested. Instead, they signed a document making a commitment to appear in court. If they do not show up, a bench warrant will be issued, Martyak said.

Police were also able to identify a second boy who said he was almost sexually assaulted as well, but escaped. More charges are pending, the police report states.

Tucker would not say if the four students have been expelled, suspended, or still attend classes.

Officials at the school did not return phone calls to discuss the safety policies and procedures used in the school dorms.

E-mail Margarita Raycheva at mraycheva@gazette.net.