WARREN, Mich. – Arrest warrants were issued Thursday in the hazing case surrounding the Warren De La Salle football team.
Five 18-year-olds are being charged as adults and two 16-year-olds are being charged as minors, officials said. They are being charged with misdemeanor assault and battery.
The charges stem from the complaints of two victims. The arrest warrants come from the St. Clair County Prosecutor’s Office four months after a hazing incident at a team dinner. All seven people charged are De La Salle football players, authorities said.
Police said younger players were held down in the locker room and assaulted, including with a broomstick.
“There was no penetration, but there was an assault, and that’s why they’re being charged with assault and battery,” Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer said.
After initial complaints, school officials did their own investigation, which led to the team canceling the rest of the football season. After a lack of cooperation from the school, parents and victims, prosecutors announced last month that there would be no charges.
But then, two new victims came forward.
“The message is, ‘You commit a crime, you are going to be held responsible, where at De La Salle or anywhere else,’” Dwyer said. “The concern I really have is over school administration not turning it over to the Warren Police Department immediately.”
Dwyer said he expects the players to turn themselves in over the next few days and be arraigned early next week.