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Two teammates are accused of assaulting boy, then 15, in hazing on school grounds
By Carl Chancellor
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Tuesday, Mar 18, 2008
What has been described as a hazing that went horribly wrong had two Tallmadge High School football players in Summit County Juvenile Court on Monday facing rape and related charges.
Attorneys for the defense and prosecution agreed in opening statements that a sophomore football player had indeed been accosted behind the school by several teammates last summer after a football practice.
And attorneys for both sides stated that during the altercation, the victim was forced to the ground, his pants were pulled down and he was jabbed in the buttocks with a drinking straw.
What attorneys don't agree upon is whether the attack was premeditated and whether the straw penetrated the victim's rectum, which is crucial to establishing the rape charge.
There was no doubt as far as the victim was concerned.
During at times emotional testimony, the victim, now 16, described in detail the incident that he had hidden from his parents, coaches and school officials until police questioned him more than a month later.
''I didn't tell anybody. I didn't want people to find out,'' he said.
The victim said he struggled unsuc
cessfully to free himself and stop the attack. He said the incident with the straw lasted only a very short while —''five to eight seconds''— but the straw entered his rectum more than once during that time.
''It went in,'' he said.
The victim identified the two defendants, both 17, as two of the teammates who held him down and one of them as the person who placed the straw into his rectum.
One of the defendants, a junior, is charged with one count of delinquency by rape, a felony, and one count of hazing, a misdemeanor.
The other, a senior, is charged with one count of delinquency to commit rape, a felony, and one count of hazing.
A tape recording, made shortly after their arrests, was played in court Monday morning.
One of the defendants can be heard, saying, ''Rape? Are you serious?''
Before the victim took the stand, another teammate, who previously pleaded guilty to hazing, testified about the incident, saying a few of the players ''were just messing around and it got out of hand.''
After the prosecution rested its case Monday afternoon, defense attorney Scott Rilley asked Judge Linda Teodosio to dismiss the complicity to commit rape charge against his client.
Rilley argued that prosecutors had failed to prove that his client knew that ''pantsing'' — the practice of pulling down a teammate's shorts — would escalate to an alleged rape.
''None of the individuals knew the incident with the straw was going to occur,'' Rilley said.
Teodosio overruled the motion.
The trial could conclude today.
In December, a 17-year-old teammate was given 40 hours of community service and other sanctions after pleading guilty to a delinquency charge of disorderly conduct for his role in the incident.
In November, charges against a 16-year-old were dismissed by recommendation of the prosecutors.
Two other players, one 16 and one 17, each pleaded guilty to one delinquency charge of hazing. They were given 40 hours of community service and ordered to write a five-page essay on bullying.
They also were ordered not to have any contact with the victim or his family.
Carl Chancellor can be reached at 330-996-3725 or cchancellor@thebeaconjournal.com.
What has been described as a hazing that went horribly wrong had two Tallmadge High School football players in Summit County Juvenile Court on Monday facing rape and related charges.
Get the full article here.
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