The teenager is being charged with illegal jail on suspicion of Hayes incident involving five young teammates.
The 11 teenage lacrosse players from upstate New York have been charged with second illegal imprisonment and misdemeanors after allegedly in the Hayes incident involving five young teammates.
The Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that NTD, sister media of the Epoch Times, was charged Thursday.
Students connected to the Westhill High School Boys’ Lacrosse program attracted themselves after district attorney William Fitzpatrick issued a 48-hour deadline, after officials moved forward or faced more serious felony temptation charges.
Instead, the group allegedly ran to a remote area in southern Onondaga County. There, several individuals are said to have met in the woods, wearing black clothes and armed with at least one handgun and what appears to be a knife.
One victim was said to have been chosen, blindfolded with pillowcases, tied up and placed in the trunk of a car. The student was left to believe he would be abandoned, but was eventually brought back home. Four other potential victims managed to escape from the area.
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Fitzpatrick added that the event “cannot properly represent the level of stupidity and lack of judgment in this community beyond hazing.”
The student left in the trunk was not physically injured, but Fitzpatrick said, “I don’t know how much this young man will be affected by what happened to him. Emotionally, it will be long-term.”
The entire incident was recorded on video and was used by investigators to identify 11 students who were thought to have participated either directly or indirectly.
Fitzpatrick warned that the situation could be tragic if law enforcement intervenes.
“If one of the sheriff’s patrol officers was on duty and passed by on the scene, they would have come out of the car with a gun depicting them, and if one of these young men foolishly pointed their weapons in the direction of the officer, you can imagine that it had not happened by God’s grace,” Fitzpatrick said.
West Hill Central School District Principal Stephen Dunham has announced the cancellation of the remainder of the Varsity Boys Lacrosse season, citing the need to address the culture of the program.
“Let me be clear. The majority of the Varsity Boys Lacrosse teams have not been involved in the incident since last week and were not aware of it in advance,” Dunham said in a statement sent to local news outlets.
“Hazing is an irrefutable act. It can be humiliating and degraded, and can cause physical and emotional harm. The West Hill Central School District policy strictly prohibits haze in all forms, and it simply does not tolerate it.”
West Hill Central School District’s Board of Education Chairman Lisa O’Reilly said in a statement sent to NTD that she continues to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
“We remain committed to the value of student safety, dignity and accountability,” she said. “We are in close contact with law enforcement and continue to focus on supporting our students and ensuring the safety and well-being of our school community.”
His mother, Rosemary Talcci, added: “The boys who did this are good kids. They come from good families. They make big mistakes and I think a lot of schools can learn from it.”
