The Natrona County School District on Friday announced that district officials on Thursday were made aware of multiple reports of sexual battery at the middle- and high-school levels.

An increase of such reports throughout the school district was reported to district officials by Sgt. Scott Jones of the Casper Police Department, according to a statement from the district.

"The last two weeks we have seen an increase in sexual battery reports throughout the middle and high schools," Jones said in a statement. "The Casper Police Department has and will continue to aggressively prosecute these cases."

An unspecified number of students are engaging in criminal sexual behavior, the district said, as part of a "game" or "challenge" in which another student dares them to commit sexual battery. The district said students who engage in such behavior will face school consequences in addition to possible criminal consequences.

"We are asking parents and guardians to speak to your children about the seriousness of this information," the statement from the district reads in part. "This behavior is not a 'game.' It is a crime."

The school district encouraged students to contact a school official, trusted adult or law enforcement if they have been a victim of sexual assault or battery.

Safe2Tell Wyoming offers students, parents and community members a confidential channel to report concerns about safety or well-being.

Sexual battery is a misdemeanor in which one person touches another person's "intimate parts" as defined by state statute.

"This behavior is intolerable and will be aggressively prosecuted," Jones added."

Further details of the reported incidents were not released by the district.

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