OREM, Utah — An Orem man is facing multiple charges after he allegedly encouraged a group of juveniles to travel to a nearby junior high school, where they are accused of assaulting a 12-year-old boy.
Ryan Hinostroza was arrested Tuesday and faces 7 counts of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor, as well as Riot and Assault, for his involvement in the incident that occurred earlier this month.
According to the Orem Police Department, a group of 7 boys from multiple schools in the area went to Lakeridge Junior High School and confronted the 12-year-old student. The group threatened the boy with assault if he did not go with them to a remote area of the school.
After the group walked to an area near the school's tennis courts, police said Hinostroza pulled up to the scene in his vehicle, where he and others encouraged one of the juveniles to assault the boy.
The unidentified victim was punched multiple times in the face until Hinostroza ordered the assault to end.
Security video allegedly shows Hinostroza picking up three of the juveniles from multiple schools in the Orem area on the day of the attack, and then driving them to Lakeridge Junior High School. In a video found on a phone taken from one of the juveniles, Hinostroza is seen encouraging the assault. Arrest documents claim that police also found other "fight" videos on the phone that showed Hinostroza leading juveniles to fight.
While being interviewed by police, the juvenile suspects said the assault stemmed from one of the boys being offended by the victim the day before the attack. The suspects said the plan to assault the victim at his school was put into place while the group was at Hinostroza's house.
During his police interview, arrest documents state Hinostroza admitted to working with the juveniles to assault the 12-year-old boy, and driving some of them to the school.
