A teenage boy who admitted to playing a game of “boob tag” with his friends may be facing charges of unlawful sexual contact, his mother said Wednesday.
Cole Sharpe, a 14-year-old student at Bell Middle School in Golden, was accused of touching a girl’s breast while playing the game with other students about two months ago at the school, said his mother, Lynn Sharpe.
Cole played the game with a mix of girls and boys and it was all consensual, she said. “It turns out there’s this game called boob tag where you grab somebody’s (breast) and they’re it,” she added.
Lynn Sharpe said her son told her that his accuser was not among the group that played the game.
Cole declined to be interviewed.
Sharpe said school officials called her on Friday and said they were questioning Cole after they learned about the allegations. She said she believed the district’s investigation was over, but on Tuesday the school’s resource officer asked them to come to the Police Department.
After about an hour of questioning, the officer “said she’s placing Cole under arrest,” Sharpe said.
That officer couldn’t be reached for comment. Golden police spokesman Ryan Custer said Cole was “booked and released,” but not arrested.
Fingerprints and a photograph were taken, Custer said. He said there is an ongoing investigation and he could not comment further because it involves a juvenile.
A spokesperson for the Jefferson County School District could not be reached for comment, but Superintendent Cindy Stevenson said the district cooperates with police investigations.
Sharpe said her son needs to learn a lesson, but she fears this one may have gone too far.
“It’s a hard lesson for him. And that is what it should be,” Sharpe said. “It is an inappropriate game. I’m not condoning any of this. But I’m looking at the seriousness of the charges in relation to what is natural to boys and girls at this age.”
Staff writer Karen Rouse can be reached at 303-820-1684 or krouse@denverpost.com.
