Will it never end? Five college football players charged in hazing, attempted sodomy of freshman
September 19, 2017
Five Wheaton College football players are facing felony charges for their alleged hazing attack on a freshman teammate in 2016.
Authorities signed arrest warrants Monday for football players James Cooksey, Kyler Kregel, Benjamin Pettway, Noah Spielman and Samuel TeBos. All five are charged with aggravated battery, mob action, and unlawful restraint. Wheaton College is located in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton, about 25 miles west of the city.
The victim gave a statement to the Chicago Tribune about what he said was a deeply traumatic assault.
“This has had a devastating effect on my life. What was done to me should never occur in connection with a football program or any other activity. … I am confident that the criminal prosecution will provide a fair and just punishment to the men who attacked me.”
The Wheaton Police Department refused to released any reports related to the incident, but the newspaper was able to obtain records of the victim’s statements to police.
The alleged incident occurred in March 2016 while the victim was watching the NCAA basketball tournament in his dorm room. Several of his older teammates burst into the room and allegedly began punching him. According to the victim’s statement, the players tied duct tape around his bare legs, put a pillow case over his head, and carried him out of the dorm and into a car.
While in the car, the victim reported that the men played Middle Eastern music and told the victim that he had been kidnapped by Muslims who wanted to have sex with goats. The teammates patted his foot and told him that he would be their “goat” for the evening before pulling down his shorts and attempting to insert an object into his rectum. When he resisted, they allegedly beat him.
The teammates took the victim to an off-campus park and, after taking his cell phone and throwing dirt on him, allegedly left him on a baseball diamond half-naked and tied up with duct tape in 45 degree weather.
The 19-year-old had just transferred to the conservative Christian school and had no idea where he was or how to get home. About 10 minutes later, another player was left at the baseball field with the victim, and the two were able to get home when friends came looking for the second victim.
After reaching his dorm and calling his mother, the freshman drove himself to the hospital where he was treated for two torn shoulders along with additional minor injuries.
The victim broke down in the emergency room and a nurse called police to collect evidence. His grandparents then picked him up from the hospital and took him to their home to stay with them for the night.
His father drove to the college the next day and moved him out of the dorm. He withdrew from the college not long after.
The victim reportedly needed two surgeries because of his injuries.
According to a statement released by the college Monday, school administrators learned about the alleged assault from coaches and other team members shortly after it happened. The school launched an investigation, and school officials claim to have punished the students involved.
But the school reportedly refused to release details about the “corrective action.” Sources with knowledge of the situation told the Tribune that some of the college’s football players were required to complete 50 hours of community service and write an eight-page essay to reflect on their behavior.
“Wheaton remains committed to providing Christ-centered development programs and training to all our students,” Campus spokeswoman LaTonya Taylor said in a statement.
All five of the accused men were on the school’s football team roster as of Monday. Three of them, Speilman, Kregel, and Pettway all played in a game Saturday.
Kregel, 21, is a center from Grand Rapids, Michigan and was a second-team All-American center for the Thunder in 2016. Pettway , also 21, is an offensive lineman from Lookout Mountain, Georgia. Cooksey, 22, is a defensive lineman from Jacksonville, Florida, and TeBos, 22, is a linebacker from Allendale, Michigan.
Spielman, 21, is a defensive lineman from Columbus, Ohio. He is the son of former NFL All-Pro linebacker Chris Spielman. Chris Spielman is currently working as a football analyst for Fox Sports.
Bonds are set at $50,000 for each man, and they are expected to turn themselves in to police this week.
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Did no one at Wheaton ever read about Penn State? Incredible!
ReplyDeleteIt is important for this kind of thing to be reported and for the justice system to take it very seriously.... There are way too many men who are afraid to go to the police when things like this happen to them.
ReplyDelete