11 high school athletes face charges in armed 'hazing' after prosecutor's ultimatum
After a grave warning from Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick, 11 high school lacrosse players in upstate New York have turned themselves in to police for their alleged participation in a cruel prank that went "way beyond hazing," Fox News has confirmed.
The Westhill High School students will be charged with unlawful imprisonment stemming from an alleged kidnapping at gunpoint of at least one younger lacrosse player.
Fitzpatrick addressed the media Tuesday regarding a situation involving the student athletes last week.
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"Thursday, April 24th of this year during the evening hours, some students from Westhill, who, obviously, because of their age I will not name, decided that they were going to haze or play some sort of prank on some of the younger members of the lacrosse team," Fitzpatrick said. "There were at least five potential victims that the sheriff's victim has identified."
"One in particular was an individual who was taken to what he thought was to be an enjoyable evening with the upperclassmen and go to a lacrosse game and then finish the evening having something to eat at McDonalds," the district attorney said.
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"He was taken to a remote area of the county, and at some point, by pre-arrangement, people came out of the woods all dressed in black. "They were armed with what appeared to be at least one handgun and at least one knife," according to Fitzpatrick. "A pillowcase was placed over his head, he was tied up, and placed in the trunk of a car."
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He told the perpetrators that they had 48 hours to turn themselves in and face the kidnapping charges, or face felony second-degree kidnapping charges, which carry a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
"This is a 48 hour offer," he said. "Get an attorney, contact the sheriff's department, arrange to surrender yourself. You'll be given an appearance ticket."
"If you don't - if you're tougher than me and you're a gambler and you're going to play the odds and you don't think you're going to get caught, trust me - the men and women of the Onondaga County Sheriff's Department are going to identify you, you'll be arrested, you'll be prosecuted as an adult and you'll be charged with the very, very serious felony of kidnapping in the second degree."
Fitzpatrick added that he could not explain to the community the "lack of judgment and stupidity" involved in this case.
"This goes way, way beyond hazing - you know, doing something stupid as a rite of passage," he said.
He also said that in normal cases, parents of the victims would be allowed to decide if they wanted to press charges. Due to the gravity of this particular case, his office took it upon itself to proceed as they would with any other criminal matter.
Lisa O'Reilly the President of the Board of Education of The Westhill Central School District released a statement Wednesday afternoon.
"We are aware of the District Attorney's statement and are continuing to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation," she said. "At this time, the District has no additional information to share. While the investigation is ongoing, we remain committed to the values of student safety, dignity, and accountability. We remain in close contact with law enforcement and remain focused on supporting our students and ensuring the safety and well-being of our school community."
Fox News' Sandy Ibrahim contributed to this report.Original article source: 11 high school athletes face charges in armed 'hazing' after prosecutor's ultimatum
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