St. Louis County jury finds teen guilty of sodomy

TOWN AND COUNTRY, Mo. -- A jury has found a 19-year-old Missouri man guilty of charges accusing him of sexual assault during hazing at a private St. Louis County high school.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported a jury Friday found Maverick Swan Holmsley, a former student at Principia, guilty of four felony counts of sodomy or attempted sodomy. Sentencing's Aug. 5. The charges carry a minimum sentence of five years and up to life in prison.

Holmsley, of Wright City, and four other teens were charged after a 2014 incident at a dorm during an athletic camp at the Christian Science school in Town and Country. Three have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault; another teen awaits trial.

Holmsley's lawyers focused on statements from some witnesses and victims describing the incident as a "bad prank."

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com