Five seconds is enough time to make a basket, open your locker, or start your car. Now, it is becoming more common for five seconds to be enough time to turn your head and have someone slip something into your drink.

After a brutal sexual assault case involving several Meridian High students, law enforcement officials are warning kids about the growing issue of date rape.

According to county officials, two male Meridian students raped a female classmate while she was unconscious at a party in early March. Though uninvolved with the incident, Mountain View students were reportedly at the same party.

Drug and alcohol counselor Sam Kristensen said most date rape or “acquaintance rape” is committed in a social setting, such as a party. With a dangerous mixing of both drugs and alcohol, known as synergizing, even the most careful students can be forced into dangerous situations.

School Resource Officer Geoff Rowe reminds students not to put themselves in a situation where they can be harmed. “A week after this incident [involving the Meridian students], I found two girls and six male students from Mountain View alone in a house,” Rowe said.

In a circumstance like this, students need to be fully aware of what could happen. “Nothing happened [while the students were alone], but it is the exact same scenario,” Rowe said.

National statistics are on the rise, and Rowe said this is and has been a problem in the Treasure Valley. Many believe rapists are in hiding, but it is quite the contrary. Almost two-thirds of all rapes are committed by someone who is known to the victim.

Rowe has estimated that Mountain View has dealt with about half a dozen rape cases and is amazed by the number of students he’s charged with lewd and lascivious acts this year. Many times, acts like these occur at high school parties where alcohol is in abundance.

In the Meridian party case, the perpetrators claim the victim consented. Kristensen said consent under the influence is a legal gray area.

“Some people are flat out passed out and don’t know what is going on…your inhibitions are completely gone, and that is not consent,” Kristensen said.

Kristensen attributes most date rapes with the use of alcohol or a controlled substance. “Brains are developing so much right now from age fourteen to twenty five, and it’s just imperative that kids take that seriously,” Kristensen said.

After any rape occurrence, the typical victim’s stand is that if they had done something different nothing would’ve ever happened. Physical effects aside, Kristensen said that rape never really goes away. “Relationships become untrusting and it’s a lot of baggage to carry around,” he said.

Post-act, rape will continue to haunt the victim.

Law enforcement officials urge students to prevent putting themselves in the way of possible harm by surrounding themselves with people that care about them and engaging in safe and legal activities.