Sean Carlin, Associated Press
Posted: Sunday, October 12, 2014, 1:09 AM
Six of the seven students, ages 15, 16, and 17, were arrested Friday night in the assaults at regional football power Sayreville War Memorial High School, police and prosecutors said. The seventh was being sought.
Authorities did not specify the connection of the suspects or alleged victims to the football program, but previously said they were investigating hazing allegations connected to the team.
Superintendent Richard Labbe said the district would continue to cooperate with prosecutors.
The arrests came four days after Labbe announced he was canceling the rest of the football team's season after the Prosecutor's Office substantiated allegations of hazing.
Four students were attacked on separate occasions between Sept. 19 and 29, authorities said. The investigation found other teens were held against their will and touched in a sexual manner. One victim was kicked during an attack, authorities said.
Three of the suspects were charged with aggravated sexual assault, criminal restraint, hazing, and other crimes for an act of sexual penetration in one attack, Middlesex County prosecutor Andrew C. Carey said. The four other suspects were charged with aggravated criminal sexual contact and other crimes.
Those in custody were awaiting a Family Court decision on whether they would be held at a juvenile detention facility or be released to their families. Their names weren't released because of their ages.
Prosecutors did not immediately return a call and e-mail Saturday morning seeking comment on the status of the seventh suspect and whether the others had appeared before a judge.
On Friday evening, as what would have been homecoming game time neared, the lights at the school football stadium stayed off and the field remained empty.
Parents in the township have complained that the whole team is being punished. The team, the Bombers, has won three sectional titles over four years.
Labbe has stood by his decision and said the time had come for students and others to step forward when bullying occurs. He said Friday the district had launched a harassment, intimidation, and bullying investigation of all its athletic teams.
"We will come together as a school district and greater community to harness the strength required to support the young men who may have been victimized and then to begin the healing process for our beloved community," he said.
Sayreville is next to the Raritan River and just inland from the Raritan Bay, site of devastating flooding from Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. Football was a constant through the storm's aftermath, and news of the season's cancellation hit students hard. Residents describe Sayreville as a hardworking, diverse place geared toward football. They say the borough of about 43,000 is a great place to raise children.
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1wlcwbN
No comments:
Post a Comment