COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2019 | 7A
Hazing from A1
locker room while an-
other varsity member
attempted to thrust a
broomstick into the vic-
tim’s rectum. The two
varsity players then pulled
the victim to the locker
room floor, where one
suspect held the victim
down as the other contin-
ued the same act with the
broomstick.
According to interviews
conducted as part of the
investigation, as well as
information obtained by
The Sentinel, it was deter-
mined that no sex crime
had been committed
because the victim was
wearing underwear and
a football girdle during
the incident, preventing
actual penetration by the
object.
Citations to appear in
court were issued Oct. 3
to both 15-year-old varsi-
ty players for harassment,
a charge which contains
a subsection which de-
scribes “offensive physical
contact [which] consists
of touching the sexual or
other intimate parts of the
other person.”
The police department’s
investigation was closed
Oct. 4, and the case was
passed on to Lane County
Youth Services.
According to Cottage
Grove Police Chief Scott
Shepherd, charges may be
changed by the District
Attorney’s office depend-
ing on circumstances. In
such a case, the Cottage
Grove Police Department
may likely be contacted
for follow-up. As of press
time on Oct. 28, there
were no indications that
the charges would be al-
tered.
Simultaneously,
the
South Lane School Dis-
trict conducted its own
investigation,
which
stretched back to the be-
ginning of the sports sea-
son, with no additional
criminal acts reported by
the district. However, a
total of nine students re-
ceived disciplinary action
as a result of the investiga-
tion — with at least some
being suspensions. The
school district said that
a majority of these disci-
plined students were not
connected to the hazing
report, but rather disci-
plined for other behavior.
At the most recent Cot-
tage Grove football game
on Oct. 25, a total of 14
players that had been on
the Lions’ preseason ros-
ter were no longer listed,
however some were said
by the school district to
have moved away or quit
for reasons unrelated to
the hazing incident.
Though the school dis-
trict and the police de-
partment have completed
include the claim about
the medical evaluation,
but added that a mem-
ber of the alleged victim’s
family said the accused
perpetrators also placed
their genitalia on the boy
“During the investigation,
there was no evidence that
this was a long-standing
pattern of behavior.”
— Brian McCasline, Interim Assist. Superintendent
their investigations, some
news reports and a con-
sistent stream of online
comments have given life
to the worry that the in-
vestigations were not ac-
curate or comprehensive
enough.
A KEZI television re-
port on Oct. 22 featured
an anonymous “family
friend” who stated that a
“doctor had confirmed”
that the victim had been
sexually assaulted, lend-
ing credence to the claim
that the crime was more
serious than investiga-
tions concluded.
However, an online ver-
sion of the KEZI report
that appeared later did not
while they were holding
him down. The Sentinel
could not independently
varify these claims.
The Cottage Grove Po-
lice Department has con-
firmed with The Sentinel
that no medical exam
was administered to the
victim as part of the in-
vestigation, as would be
protocol in the instance of
a suspected sex crime.
School district officials
said they had no infor-
mation on the claims
regarding the medical
evaluation or claims that
the broomstick had been
inserted into the victim’s
rectum.
If true, the allegations
could constitute unlaw-
ful sexual penetration, a
Class B felony rather than
a lesser Class A misde-
meanor.
In the aftermath of
media reports, the Cot-
tage Grove community
expressed its shock and
disbelief on social media,
some making claims that
the incident was more se-
vere than was reported,
including allegations that
nude photos of other stu-
dents had been distribut-
ed.
However, no mention
of recording devices was
reported in the criminal
case according to the po-
lice department.
“Phones are not accept-
able in the locker room,”
said Interim Assistant Su-
perintendent Brian Mc-
Casline. “The phone issue
did not come up in the
investigation.”
If such actions took
place, they would like-
ly constitute an invasion
of personal privacy in
the second degree, also a
Class A misdemeanor.
Culture of
Harassment?
The concerns raised by
the community pose the
question as to whether
a culture of harassment
exists in the high school’s
locker room or football
program.
Information obtained
by The Sentinel as part
of its own investigation
has suggested that varsi-
ty members of the Cot-
tage Grove High School
football team this year
habitually exposed them-
selves in the locker room
to younger junior varsi-
ty members to make the
junior members uncom-
fortable. Though such be-
havior is prohibited under
the Cottage Grove High
School Student and Par-
ent Handbook, it does not
technically or necessarily
constitute a criminal act.
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