Texas, Arizona High Schools Embroiled in Athlete Hazing Scandals
So far, 16 student athletes from La Vernia High School and Hamilton High School have been arrested.
Most of the players involved in both hazing scandals were on the football teams.
UPDATE: April 14, 2017: Three additional La Vernia High School students have been arrested as part of the school’s alleged sexual assault scandal. Now the total number of students arrested in the case totals 13.
John Rutowski, Christian Roberts and Colton Weidner, who are all 18 years of age, were arrested on Tuesday, reports WFAA.
A lawsuit filed by one of the victims against the school and others alleges that a “pervasive ‘rape culture’ dominated the School’s football program.” It also claims that coaches and administrators either sanctioned or turned a blind eye to these “rituals,” reports CBS News.
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Ten male student athletes at La Vernia High School in La Vernia, Texas, and six football players at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz., have been arrested for hazing scandals involving sexual assault.
Most of the La Vernia arrests happened last week, reports the New York Post. Three adults – Dustin Norman, Robert Olivarez Jr., and Alejandro Ibarra – and seven minors have been arrested. Most of the suspects are football players, although, according to the San Antonio Express-News, the baseball and basketball teams were also involved.
There are at least 10 alleged victims, and authorities expect more victims will come forward. The hazing scandal affected the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 athletic programs.
RELATED: Putting an End to Hazing Deaths
One assault involving Norman, Olivarez and Ibarra happened in November at a private residence and was part of an initiation process of the 16-year-old victim who was promoted from junior varsity to varsity football, reports KENS5. The victim was allegedly held down on a bed and sexually assaulted with the threaded end of a CO2 air tank.
Other assaults are reported to have happened at other private residences or in the locker room where victims were held down and sexually assaulted with soda bottles, deodorant, steel pipes and baseball bats.
In Chandler, Ariz., police on Wednesday arrested six Hamilton High school football players for sexual assault, kidnapping and aggravated assault. Authorities say the suspects hazed current and former teammates, that the abuse happened over 17 months and that there were multiple male victims, reports AZ Central.
RELATED: How to Assess Your Hazing Prevention and Response Program
The exact nature of the alleged assaults has not been disclosed. The suspects are 16-18 years of age. The one adult suspect has not been identified because he isn’t being charged with a crime.
Hamilton High School won several state high school football championships since 2003.
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About the Author
Robin Hattersley, Editor-in-Chief
Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.
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