Teen charged in alleged harassment at Lexington Catholic

A teen is facing charges after a Lexington police investigation of a complaint filed by the mother of a Lexington Catholic High School student on behalf of her son.

A 17-year-old boy was charged Thursday with harassing communications and third-degree terroristic threatening, police said. His name has not been released because he is a juvenile.

The Key Newsjournal reported Wednesday that a black Lexington Catholic student was harassed by teammates on the school’s football team.

The Key Newsjournal reported that Denisha Vinegar said she found threatening messages to her son, DaMarco, on his computer. Vinegar said the messages included a threat of lynching as well as comments telling her son to pick cotton or sell crack to make money, according to The Key Newsjournal report.

The Key Newsjournal said police are investigating the complaint as a hate crime, but Lexington police said Thursday morning that it “is up to a court to determine if an act is bias-motivated.”

The investigation is ongoing and Lexington police have spoken with leadership from the local chapter of the NAACP and the people involved in the message exchange, police spokeswoman Brenna Angel said Thursday afternoon.

“These charges do appear to have racial bias undertones,” Angel said.

Bishop John Stowe, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington, issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying the Diocese would not tolerate racism.

“The Roman Catholic Church considers racism a sin and a violation of human dignity,” Stowe said. “The Diocese of Lexington will not tolerate racism in any of its institutions or ministries and will work to root out remnants of racist attitudes and thinking wherever it is encountered.”

The Diocese is pursuing additional information, as the administration of Lexington Catholic High School addresses the situation, the statement said.

Lexington Catholic High School President Steve Angelucci said in a statement that the “school administration is aware of the recent article that came out this morning.”

“We are currently meeting with appropriate people to gather all information possible so we can best address this matter. A further statement will be forthcoming when we are position to provide it,” he said.

This story was originally published April 7, 2016 at 11:53 AM with the headline "Teen charged in alleged harassment at Lexington Catholic."