![Sayreville football returns in 2015 — Twitter]()
Sayreville football returns in 2015. (Photo: Twitter)
Six of the seven football players charged with sexual assault or abuse of four younger teammates in the Sayreville (N.J.) hazing scandal have been placed on probation and sentenced to 50 hours of community service, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office announced Monday. The players will not be labeled as sex offenders under Meghan’s law, the statement said.
The seventh player charged is awaiting trial; a date has not been set.
The prosecutor’s office had previously decided against trying any of the players as adults. Their names were withheld because of their ages.
In response to the incidents last fall, Sayreville canceled its football season and the case drew widespread national media attention. The program is returning this fall without longtime coach George Najjar and a new athletic director has been put in place.
RELATED: Two Sayreville football players found not guilty of sexual assault, lawyers say
Four players pleaded guilty to charges of a disorderly persons offense of hazing and third-degree endangering the welfare of their younger teammates. Each was placed on probation for two years. The decision not to have them registered as sex offenders was made in consultation with the victims and their families, the prosecutor said.
Two others were placed on one-year probation after they were found delinquent following a trial in family court. Interestingly, Sayreville’s principal testified as character witnesses for both players, “despite having no personal knowledge of the assaults and abuses that occurred in the high school locker room,” the prosecutor said.
“The facts that were alleged by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at the beginning of this case have clearly been proven in a court of law,” Prosecutor Andrew Carey said in a statement. “The community of Sayreville needs to know that these serious crimes occurred, and now must work together to heal.”
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Carey also pointedly took a jab aimed at defense attorneys — without mentioning them by name or role. Attorneys for two of the players had said their clients were found not guilty of the most serious charges. One attorney, Richard Klein, criticized the prosecution, leading to outcry from the community and leading the president of the school board to say “many crimes” were committed in the locker room. Carey had previously said Klein’s comments were “inappropriate” and “misleading.”
“While the Code of Juvenile Justice provides confidentiality for the protection of juveniles, that confidentiality, unfortunately, allows for certain individuals to unscrupulously mislead the public as to what occurred at the school and during juvenile proceedings,” Carey said Monday.
The four defendants who pled guilty had been ordered to testify against their co-defendants and have no contact with the victims. One of them was placed on curfew during the two years of his probation, according to the statement.
One of the students found guilty at trial was deemed delinquent on charges of “disorderly persons simple assault, disorderly conduct, hindering his own apprehension by lying to police and hindering the apprehension of his co-defendants by lying to police. He also was found delinquent on counts of obstruction and false swearing.”
The other was found delinquent on a “disorderly persons simple assault charge, and a petty disorderly persons count of engaging in disorderly conduct for his role in the hazing and sexual conduct,” the statement said.
Initially the judge had found both guilty of criminal restraint but later reversed his findings in response to a motion by the defense. That decision spared them of mandatory registration as sex offenders.
![A former Sayreville War Memorial football player is allegedly planning a $2 million lawsuit against the school and other affiliated entities — Associated Press]()
Sayreville High School’s football banners (Photo: Associated Press)
The prosecutor’s office also outlined specifics of the incidents on Sept, 19, 26, 29 and 30, as part of its investigation.
“The first incident occurred on September 19, 2014, when a 17-year-old juvenile defendant “body slammed” a 15-year-old victim to the floor and pretended to stomp and kick the victim, exposing him to bodily injury.
“On September 26, 2014, the same 17-year-old defendant, along with the two who were adjudicated delinquent following the trial, and another 16-year-old male who is awaiting trial, took part in an attack of a 14-year-old boy.
“The victim also was forcibly knocked to the floor. One defendant held the victim, while at least two of the other defendants grabbed his penis and attempted to digitally penetrate his anus. Two to five other students, who could not be identified by the victim, surrounded him during the sexual assault.
“Further investigation showed that on September 29, 2014, three 15-year-old defendants were charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy, whose anus was digitally penetrated through his clothing by one of the defendants, while the other two held the victim down. All three defendants have pleaded guilty and admitted to the penetration.
“The final incident occurred on September 30, 2014, when the 15-year-old male charged with the digital penetration on the previous day, swiped his fingers between the buttocks of a 14-year-old boy. The defendant also pleaded guilty to the lesser charges in that sexual assault.”
