A Las Vegas adolescent has emerged as the second student from a prestigious private institution to face adult charges related to an alleged group assault during a school excursion in Costa Rica.
The accused, 15-year-old Dominic Kim, is among at least four students from Alexander Dawson School implicated in the sexual assault of a peer during the previous year’s class trip, according to prosecutors.
Authorities allege that Kim displayed a disturbing video of the incident to fellow students while attending an event at the Meadows School.
Further accusations claim that Kim threatened the students who viewed the video with harm if they reported it, as detailed in a civil lawsuit filed by the victim’s family.
Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Stacy Kollins informed the court that Kim repeatedly tormented the victim by circulating the videos well after the original event.
Last Friday, Kim faced indictment on charges of possessing child sexual abuse material and counts of child abuse, neglect, or endangerment, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Defense Attorney Josh Tomsheck argued against charging his client as an adult in court on Friday.
‘I’m not disputing he did dumb stuff by showing videos, but his intent behind it wasn’t what the state is trying to proclaim,’ he said.
Kim was a student at The Alexander Dawson School (pictured) in Summerlin, Nevada when the alleged incident occurred
Vaughn Griffith (pictured) was the first student accused of filming three classmates hold down another student and rape him with a flute on a class trip to Costa Rica
Vaughn Griffith, 15, was also certified as an adult in January in connection with the incident.
He was charged with possessing a visual presentation depicting the sexual conduct of a child, a category B felony punishable by one to six years in prison.
It is unclear which of the group of teens is believed to have performed the sexual assaults.
The teens cannot be charged in the US for any sexual assault allegations because the alleged incident occurred out of the country, officials say.
According to police, Griffith, Kim and at least two other eighth graders mercilessly bullied an anonymous classmate on the trip in April 2025.
They allegedly stripped the victim naked and threw his clothes on the balcony at Hotel Manuel Antonio.
Two days later, the boys ‘pinned him down and pulled his pants and underwear [down]’ on a bed and sexually assaulted him, police said.
According to charging documents, the boys threatened to cut off the victim’s penis if he resisted.
The victim told police that he had been bullied by the group in the past and did not consent to the interaction, reported KTNV.
Griffith’s indictment painfully detailed the ‘graphic and violent sexual assault’ as seen in a two-minute and 16-second video he allegedly posted on Snapchat and saved in his ‘Memories’ section.
Kim allegedly showed other children videos of the assault while at an event at the Meadows School (pictured)
The horrific assault is said to have taken place during a private school trip to Costa Rica (pictured)
The teen was shown being held down on the bed and clearly under stress as the boys held him in place.
He was then allegedly sexually assaulted with a flute, a Chapstick tube and toothpaste as he cried and screamed in pain and his attackers laughed.
The victim eventually told his stepmother about the alleged rape, who reported it to school principal Roxanne Stansbury.
The Alexander Dawson School’s lawyers said in January that they were aware of the ‘serious allegations involving male middle school students’ during the Costa Rica trip.
‘We take any such allegations incredibly seriously and promptly reported them to law enforcement once brought to our attention,’ they said.
‘Because the alleged misconduct occurred among middle school students, we cannot comment any further at this time.’
The elite preschool through eighth grade private school charges $32,500 per year. It advertises itself as a community that ‘exhibits empathy, integrity, humility and kindness,’ per their website.
Griffith (left), 15, was the first teen involved in the case to be charged as an adult
The boys were staying at the Hotel Manuel Antonio (pictured) in Costa Rica last April when their bullying allegedly escalated to sexual assault
Police have said that at least two others have not been charged for their alleged involvement in the incident due to jurisdictional issues.
As of April 4, Delegación Policial Quepos in Costa Rica was unaware of any sexual assault accusations.
Evidence in the case has been sealed. The FBI confirmed that its Las Vegas Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force was involved in the investigation, reported NewsNation.
Kim posted a $30,000 bail before being transferred to District Court. The conditions of his release included high-level monitoring, the surrender of his passport and no contact with the victim or minors.
Both Kim and Griffith are due back in court for arraignment on April 14. Griffith has pleaded not guilty and Kim has yet to enter a plea.
The Daily Mail contacted Kim’s attorney, the Clark County District Attorney’s Office, the Meadows School and the Alexander Dawson School for comment
