Charges filed in football camp hazings
MUNCIE – Three former Delta High School students were being charged Tuesday – as juveniles – with crimes stemming from what Delaware County Prosecutor Jeffrey Arnold called an alleged “attempt at hazing that was way out of control.”
The youths – apparently expelled from Delta after the allegations were raised last summer – are accused of abusing fellow students at a football camp held at DePauw University in June.
Because they are being prosecuted in the juvenile court system, the names of those being charged were not released. Two of the boys are now 17, authorities said, while the third is 16.
One of those youths is being charged with nine counts of battery and four counts of criminal confinement.
Another faces three counts of battery and seven counts of confinement, while the third is charged with three counts of battery and two counts of confinement.
Asked whether the alleged assaults were sexual in nature, Arnold said they “bordered on it, certainly.”
The prosecutor said the case involved "more than 10" victims.
The youths will not be arrested, but will receive notice to appear at initial hearings in Delaware County’s juvenile court, at the westside Youth Opportunity Center.
Last summer, Eric Hoffman, Arnold’s chief trial deputy, said he had discussed the allegations with the prosecutor of Putnam County, where the football camp was held.
“In a juvenile case, a prosecution can be held in the county where the act occurs or where the juvenile resides,” Hoffman said. “(Putnam County authorities) deferred to us.”
Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.