Hazing charges cost star NJ football player scholarship to Penn State: Report

A star football player at the New Jersey high school caught up in a allegations of sexual hazing rituals carried out on other players has lost his scholarship to Penn State University.

Myles Hartsfield, a highly-touted cornerback in his final year at Sayreville War Memorial School was dropped by the Penn State coaches Monday, according to BlueWhiteIllustrated, a fan site for the Big 12 team.

Seven players have been charged with sex crimes over allegations that older team members would routinely hold new players down, penetrate them with their fingers, then stick it in the boy's mouth.

The Nittany Lions pulled Hartsfield’s scholarship offer. The 5-11, 180-pounder committed to Penn State in June, choosing the Big Ten school over offers from Rutgers, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Wake Forest, West Virginia and several others.

Penn State football, which can least afford to get involved in another scandal, is still feeling the aftereffects of the Jerry Sandusky debacle.

Hartsfield, a three-sport star, has been described as an "explosive talent" in offense and defense — and was ranked as the 13th most promising player in New Jersey according to Rivals.com.

But his, and many of his teammates, promising football careers are now in jeopardy after the season was canceled while investigations take place.

The 17-year-old Hartsfield could be tried as an adult.

The scandal widened this week after the Sayreville Schools Superintendent Richard Labbe revealed that the hazing may have been going on for years —  and said that football may be permanently eliminated from the athletics program.

In addition, Rutgers senior associate athletic director Jason Baum said the local product does not hold a Scarlet Knight offer.

“He was committed to another school and when a player commits to another program, they no longer have a committable offer from Rutgers University,” Baum told NJ Advance Media’s Matt Stanmyre in an email on Sunday.

Hazing arrests may push New Jersey high school towards permanantly eliminating football: Report

After the arrest of seven football players for their brutal hazing abuse on freshman members of the team, the scandalized New Jersey high school is discussing the possibility of eliminating the sport permanently from its athletic program.

Sayreville War Memorial High School football has already cancelled the rest of this season.

The disturbing — and highly-publicized — reports of alleged attacks of a sexual nature in the locker room has divided the working class town into two sides — and now Sayreville Schools Superintendent Richard Labbe claims there is a possibility that the sport could be scrapped forever, reported NJ.com.

"I will say clearly: Whether we have a football program moving forward is certainly a question in my mind," Labbe said at a rally calling for schools to do more to tackle bullying and assault. "Based upon the severity of the charges, I'm not sure. I have to look at the results of the investigation. I have to await more information from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's office."

The seven students, 15 to 17 years-old,  have been charged with sex crimes after allegedly pinning down new players, penetrating them with a finger, then sticking it in the boys' mouths. 

Over the weekend, Labbe revealed information gathered by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Officer suggests harassment, intimidation and bullying may have taken place before this year in the Bombers' locker room.

"The prosecutor said it was pervasive and led me to believe that it's more than one year," Labbe said. "To the extent of that, I'm not sure. I'm confident that it was more than one year. How many more years? I'm not sure."

The new details of the abuse has forced the school officials to consider the future of the powerhouse team, the coach and the principal.

The description of the attacks, which are alleged to have taken place almost every day from September 19 to 29, was given by an unnamed parent of a football player on Saturday.

It came as the coach of the team, George Najjar, refused to answer questions about whether he would resign. He said: "There will be a time and place when I have something to say, but now is not the time."

Three were charged with aggravated sexual assault, criminal restraint, hazing and other crimes for an act of sexual penetration upon one of the children.

The four other students 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.

Labbe said that if he decides to suspend the program, he has not thought about how long any suspension may last. He will wait until the prosecutor's office has finished its investigation before making a decision, he said.

Seven players charged with sexual assault in New Jersey high school football hazing: Report

Seven players from a New Jersey football team have been charged with sex crimes in connection with a series of assaults stemming from an investigation into hazing by team members. The alleged attacks of a sexual nature have already led to the cancellation of the rest of the school's football season.

Six of the seven Sayreville War Memorial High School players, ranging in age from 15 to 17, were arrested Friday night, and the seventh was being sought, police and prosecutors said.

The scandal has rocked and divided the working class town in central New Jersey.

Three of the players were charged with aggravated sexual assault, criminal restraint, hazing and other crimes for an act of sexual penetration upon one of the children, Middlesex County prosecutor Andrew C. Carey said. The four other students were charged with aggravated criminal sexual contact and other crimes, reported NJ.com.

The group is charged with attacking four other members of the regional football power, on four separate occasions between Sept. 19 and Sept. 29, authorities said. Their investigation found that the students held other teens against their will and improperly touched them in a sexual manner. 

One of the victims was kicked during an attack, police said.

The seven teenagers charged in the hazing scandal — their identities withheld because of their ages —are to appear before a Superior Court judge who oversees criminal cases involving juvenile defendants who are under the age of 18.

Teenagers who are tried and found guilty of charges under the state’s juvenile delinquency statutes face lesser penalties than an adult. In fact, juveniles who remain in juvenile court don’t go to prison, but are incarcerated at juvenile justice facilities or detention centers in the state. They may even be spared any detention time.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, however, could ask a judge to “waive” them to adult  —criminal court where the juveniles would be charged and tried as adults.

According to NJ.com, there are significant sentencing differences in juvenile versus adult court:

• Aggravated sexual assault: Under juvenile delinquency code carries no more than five years incarceration, but the first degree crime carries up to 20 years in prison if convicted in adult court.

• Aggravated assault: Under juvenile delinquency code carries 60 days to a year, but if it is a second degree crime in adult court it can carry up to 10 years in prison.

• Criminal restraint and aggravated criminal sexual contact: Under juvenile delinquency code carry no more than 60 days incarceration, but as third degree crime in adult court carry sentences of 3 to 5 years in prison.

• Hazing and riot are fourth degree crimes that presume no incarceration for juveniles but could result in up to 16 months in prison for adults.

The juveniles would also have criminal records if convicted of the crimes in adult court and could be registered as sex offenders under Megan’s Law.

No court dates have been scheduled, according to the prosecutor’s office.

NJ high school football players could face prison if hazing charges are true: Report

Canceling the 2014 season might be the least of the problems facing some players from a New Jersey high school football team involved in alleged hazing and bullying of a sexual nature if any of the behavior is true and if any of the young men are convicted.

If the allegations about the disturbing rituals in the Sayreville War Memorial High School football locker room are proven, those who committed the acts could face lengthy prison sentences if convicted, says a former New Jersey prosecutor.

Robert Honecker, a former first assistant prosecutor in Monmouth County who is now a defense attorney, said the charges depend upon the acts involved, as well as the age of the victim and defendant.

Honecker has no connection to the hazing allegations that rocked one of the state’s powerhouse football teams over the past week, but based on the allegations made by a parent of a football player in Sayreville as told to NJ Advance Media reporter Matthew Stanmyre, he made a list of possible charges that could be brought.

He said the parent’s story fits into the sexual assault statute as well as the hazing statute.

“There is aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact and sexual contact,” he said. “They would all fit. There would be a count for each victim.”

The parent claimed that senior football players would darken the locker room, grab a freshman football player, restrain him and then force a finger into the younger player’s rectum.

Honecker said if the seniors who participated are under 18 years old, they must be charged as juveniles. But the prosecutor’s office could make a motion before a judge to waive them to adult court, where the penalties for the same crimes are much more severe.

He said if the senior football players are charged and prosecuted as juveniles, aggravated sexual assault carries a five-year incarceration, but not in state prison. There are reformatories and facilities that house youthful offenders.

In adult court, aggravated sexual assault is a first-degree crime and punishable by 10 to 20 years in state prison. Sexual assault is second degree and carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Aggravated criminal sexual contact is third degree, which is up to five years in prison. Sexual contact is fourth degree and could result in a 16-month prison sentence.

“They (the allegations) also fall under the hazing statute,” Honecker said. “Hazing alone is a disorderly persons offense but if someone suffers serious bodily injury it becomes aggravated hazing, a fourth degree.”

He said the seniors could also face charges of criminal restraint, a third degree crime.

The ages of the victims — 13 or 14 — and the seniors — 17 or 18 — could increase the severity of the charge filed as well, Honecker said.

He said the investigation by law enforcement into these allegations could take months.

“Hazing cases sometimes are difficult to prosecute,” Honecker said. “Victims don’t easily come forward. Once the victim or multiple victims do come forward, then the cases can be prosecuted, but you have to get them in the door.”

Sexual nature of alleged New Jersey HS football hazings is revealed: Report

The alleged sexual hazing rituals which forced a New Jersey high school football team to cancel the rest of its season have been revealed by the parent of a player in the program — and the details are are disturbing.

The reported attacks within Sayreville War Memorial High School's football program happened frequently and without warning, the parent claimed. It would start with a howling noise from a senior football player before the locker room lights were abruptly shut off.

NJ.com wrote: 

In the darkness, a freshman football player would be pinned to the locker room floor, his arms and feet held down by multiple upperclassmen. Then, the victim would be lifted to his feet while a finger was forced into his rectum. Sometimes, the same finger was then shoved into the freshman player’s mouth.

It happened almost every day in the locker room this fall, he said.

The allegations — revealed for the first time — provide details to the events that sparked a criminal investigation by local and county police, and prompted the cancellation of the remainder of the Sayreville football season this week by Superintendent of Schools Richard Labbe.

“[For] 10 seconds, the lights would go off and they would grab a freshman and they would go on,” the parent said. “Right on the floor. … It was happening every day. They would get the freshmen.”

“Kids would just sit around and witness [stuff] like this.”

The parent, informed by his son and other parents close to the investigation, is the first to come forward to reveal the hazing practices Labbe has characterized as “incidences of harassment, intimidation and bullying as constituted by the definition within the anti-bullying statute that took place on a pervasive level, on a wide-scale level, and at a level in which the players knew, tolerated, and in general accepted.”

According to the parent, whose identity is being protected because the parent feared retribution against the family and the player, the routine was initiated when an upperclassman would enter the locker room and make a wolf call or howling noise.

The parent said the “ringleaders” involved in the hazing are seniors.

No charges have been filed.

N.J. high school cancels rest of football season amid 'sexual' hazing allegations: Report

While local and county authorities looks into reports of a New Jersey high school football team's widespread hazing, the school has decided to cancel the remainder of its season because of the bullying allegations.

After an emotional two hour meeting with school officials and parents of the football players, Sayreville High School decided to cancel the rest of the season. The cancellation affects all levels of play — freshman, junior varsity and varsity.

The announcement was made after the private meeting held Monday night.

"This is a very sad day here in Sayreville," Superintendent of Schools Dr. Richard Labbe said in a statement to reporters after the meeting.

There was enough evidence to substantiate the allegations of harassment and intimidation at the center of a separate criminal investigation by police and prosecutors, said Labbe.

The incidents took place "on a pervasive level, on a widescale level, and at a level in which the players knew, tolerated and in general accepted," he said. 

Labbe said canceling the season sends a clear message that the behavior won't be tolerated. No players have been suspended.

This district and this board of education is making a unified stance to say 'no.' No to bullying," said Labbe.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor said Friday it was investigating a report that seniors on the team hazed freshmen in various forms, some of which could be considered sexual assault.

Sayreville High School's football team, one of New Jersey's top programs, already forfeited multiple games amid the hazing accusations, including last Thursday night's big showdown with rival South Brunswick.

Parents, mostly of football players, met with school officials Friday and expressed frustration that many players they felt were innocent were being unfairly punished.

The decision set off a Twitter war.

Meanwhile, police are also investigating the team's assistant football coach Charlie Garcia, after they found more than two boxes of steroids and more than a dozen syringes during a traffic stop late last month.