PITTSBURG, Kan. —
Police are recommending criminal charges for 15 members of the Seneca (Mo.) High School football team in a hazing incident last month during a football camp at Pittsburg State University.
In a press conference on Monday afternoon, PSU police Chief Mike McCracken said his officers had forwarded an incident report to the Crawford County attorney’s office, recommending felony and misdemeanor charges of battery. No charges were recommended against Seneca football coaches, who served as chaperones for the students at the camp.
“We didn’t find anything through our investigation that showed the coaches had any involvement,” he said. “As far as supervising the children, that’s beyond the scope of our investigation.”
Seneca school administrators contacted PSU police on June 15 to report a hazing incident took place. McCracken said his officers interviewed more than 50 Seneca students who attended the camp and identified 17 victims along with the 15 suspects.
All of the victims and suspects in the case are minors, and PSU officials declined to release any of students’ names.
The most serious incidents of abuse involved students being struck with plastic curtain rods from window blinds. McCracken described some of the injuries as “significant,” but declined to give more specific details. He did say that freshmen players were victims and upperclassmen were the suspects “as a rule.”
Seneca School Board president Joe Caputo did not return messages left on his cell phone Monday. Seneca Superintendent Rick Cook could not be reached for comment Monday.
Cook previously said the school district conducted its own investigation and determined that a hazing incident took place. He said at the time that the district would follow its discipline policy in dealing with the students involved.
Crawford County Attorney Michael Gayoso said he had received the police report, but had not completely reviewed the document as of Monday afternoon. Formal charges could be filed within the next few days, he said.
“I think when you have so many interviews alleging similar facts, we’ll be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the abuse did occur,” he said.
Gayoso also confirmed that at least some of the suspects placed their genitals on the faces of some of the victims as part of the hazing. He said any potential charges related to those incidents would be filed under misdemeanor battery.
Gayoso said because of the ages of the suspects, the cases would start out in juvenile court, but the court could decide whether to charge the individuals as adults on a case-by-case basis.
McCracken said investigators determined that most of the abuse took place on Thursday, June 10, during a lunch break. Players were staying at Nation Hall, a dormitory on the PSU campus, while they attended an annual football camp for which PSU head football coach Tim Beck was the host.
“In the entire time these camps have gone on, we’ve had thousands of kids come through, and this is the first incident we’ve been asked to investigate,” McCracken said.
Seneca meeting
The Seneca School Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the central administration office, 914 Frisco St., Seneca, Mo.
Crime & Courts
Related Photos
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Pittsburg State University police Chief Mike McCracken (left), with Chris Kelley, a PSU associate vice president, at his side, on Monday talks about his department’s recommendation that criminal charges be filed in a hazing incident involving high school football players from Seneca, Mo. The press conference was conducted at PSU. Globe/T. Rob Brown
Discussion
PSU police recommend charges in hazing incident
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