NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Several New Jersey high school students have been criminally charged in connection with a series of hazing incidents that happened inside the football team’s locker room.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said the juvenile defendants are charged with hazing, attempted criminal sexual contact, criminal sexual contact, false imprisonment and harassment.
No details were revealed regarding the alleged hazing incidents, however, the prosecutor’s office noted that they happened between September and October of last year at the Wall Township High School.
Parents from the high school who allegedly viewed the incidents on video tape told NJ.com that they saw older students swarm a younger player as he screamed for them to stop.
According to the report, at least one player was seen attacking the younger teen with a broomstick. Though parents said the video did not explicitly show sodomy, they said they believed that was the attempt being made.
“The results of our investigations necessitated the filing of juvenile complaints against those involved in order to serve the interests of justice,” said Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey. “It is imperative that victims of hazing, harassment, intimidation, and bullying know that such conduct is not a ‘rite of passage’ and should not be endured without consequence in order to gain acceptance in social, club, sport, or academic settings.”
“We are hopeful that the lessons gleaned from this case foster a renewed focus on actively teaching juveniles in all of our schools what conduct crosses the line of acceptability, and what students must do if they are a bystander or victim of hazing, harassment, intimidation, or bullying,” she added.
A secondary investigation by the prosecutor’s office also led to one of the teen defendants being charged with sexual assault in connection with an incident that occurred outside of school.
The prosecutor’s office said juvenile cases are not typically publicized, but the office is doing so in this instance “in response to intense public scrutiny regarding these matters."
However, the decision to make the charges public was met with backlash from attorneys representing the teens involved in the case.
Christopher Adams, a lawyer for one of the students, told NJ.com that the prosecutor’s release is “unprecedented and grossly irresponsible” and added that “there is absolutely nothing sexual about anything that happened in the videos or in the locker room.”
“This was wrestling and sophomoric behavior by 15-, 16- and 17-year-old boys before football practice in front of the coaches,” Adams continued. “If there was anything sexual the coaches would have stopped it, but they didn’t because it was nothing more than horseplay.”
Tara Brelow-Testa, a lawyer representing another student, also slammed the prosecutor’s office for publishing a press release on the charges, telling the NJ.com it “condemns these juveniles in the court of public opinion before they even have their day in court.”
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