Wheaton College football players charged in hazing incident

UPDATE: Wheaton College announced late Tuesday it had suspended five football players charged with felony assault from team activities. Two of the players turned themselves in to police and posted bond Tuesday, and the other three are expected to do the same later this week, the Chicago Tribune reported. In a statement released Tuesday night, a lawyer for one of the accused players said he was cooperating with authorities. “Noah Spielman was shocked to hear of these charges after an investigation by Wheaton College exonerated him over one year ago,” attorney Mark Sutter said, according to the Tribune.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (9/19/17, 12:26 p.m.): Illinois prosecutors have charged five members of the Wheaton College football team with aggravated battery, mob action, and unlawful restraint following a 2016 hazing incident. The men—James Cooksey, Kyler Kregel, Benjamin Pettway, Noah Spielman, and Samuel TeBos—are accused of kidnapping a freshman player from his dorm room, wrapping duct tape around his ankles and wrists, and beating him. They allegedly also attempted to sodomize him before dumping him, half naked, on an off-campus baseball field. The 19-year-old freshman, who has not been identified, told the Chicago Tribune he suffered tears in both shoulders that required two surgeries to repair. He withdrew from the evangelical Christian school shortly after the incident. College administrators said they hired a “third party” to investigate last year after they learned about the hazing. They also took unspecified “corrective actions” but declined to specify any punishment the players received. All five men remain on the football team’s roster, and three of them played Saturday in Wheaton’s victory over Carthage College. The team is ranked fourth in the nation among Division III schools. All Wheaton athletes sign an anti-hazing policy pledging not to humiliate, degrade, abuse, or endanger another person.