GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — Police in south Georgia announced the arrests of three people— and two additional complaints made against juveniles— in the case of Trent Lehrkamp. The updates come about a month after the 19-year-old was dropped off at a hospital severely intoxicated.
The case generated widespread attention after videos appeared online of Trent strapped to a chair getting hosed down, as well as extreme allegations likened to "hazing" against the group of teens Trent had been hanging out with on at least two occasions.
Glynn County Interim Police Chief O'Neal Jackson said two adults, a 46-year-old and 56-year-old, were arrested and face charges of maintaining a disorderly house and contributing to the delinquency or dependency of a minor.
"This is an incident that could have been avoided if parents were a little bit more attentive to what's going on in their house," Jackson said.
A 17-year-old was also charged on a separate matter that was uncovered in investigating this case.
In addition to the arrests, two complaints were made against juveniles in Juvenile court. Complaints are made when a child under the age of 17 has committed a "delinquent" or "unruly" act, according to a document from the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice.
Law enforcement said at a press conference update on Monday that they'd been frustrated by the attention on the case, saying it had diverted investigative resources. Glynn County District Attorney Keith Higgins set the record straight on some of the claims you may have seen online about Trent.
"He is not autistic. He is not developmentally disabled. He is not mentally challenged," Higgins said.
They said their investigation revealed that Trent had gone to a residence on St. Simon's Island where these gatherings occurred regularly and that he had drank alcohol voluntarily— including to the point of blacking out and being in severe physical distress the night he was taken to the hospital.
Their findings do not support earlier allegations made by others that he'd been force-fed large amounts of alcohol.
"He continued to go back because he was under the impression those individuals were his friends, obviously they weren't if they treated him like that," police said.
"A lot of things put on social media were inaccurate, people with fake profiles, people not even from this area putting out misinformation, got people infuriated about the case, misinformation out there with specific acts done that were very violent in nature, vile, forced to drink, things of that nature simply are not true."
Police also examined two videos central to the case, which were taken Mar. 17 and Mar. 23. The first of the two most concrete controversies— the video showing Trent getting sprayed down— came after he'd been in an "egg fight." Higgins said Trent was not being tortured.
"And he consented to be washed off with a water hose after the egg fight ended," Higgins added.
Higgins said extended video evidence in this instance showed he'd asked to take electronics out of his pocket and then sat down in the chair.
In the other, which later involved him being taken to the hospital, police said he "voluntarily drank alcohol until he blacked out" and that "no one forced him to drink, no one pushed a funnel down his throat."
Higgins also clears up why the hospital staff described him as covered in urine.
"Quite frankly, the physiological response of a human being who has drank alcohol to the point that is a toxin in their system will either sweat profusely, vomit and urinate," Higgins said. "No one urinated on Trenton Lehrkamp. No one defecated on Trenton Lehrkamp either."
Higgins said the alleged defecation was in fact a dinosaur toy.
Police recently clarified that the videos circulating online appear to show the 19-year-old in a previous incident— not the one that led to Trent being dropped off at the hospital.
Instead of the characterization that Trent was left outside the hospital by three other teens who then drove off, police said they accompanied him into the emergency room, got him medical attention, then left their names and phone numbers with hospital personnel before leaving.
"By taking Trenton to the hospital so he could get medical attention," Higgins said. "The juveniles quite probably saved his life."
>> Re-watch full press conference: