WARREN, Mich. – Warrants have been signed for seven student-athletes at Warren De La Salle High School.
Five of those students are facing charges as adults and the other two will be charged as juveniles.
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 hazing scandal has engulfed the school and split the parents. Some are so angry over how it has been dealt with that they want the president fired. Some parents have said they think the investigation has credibility issues.
From the beginning parents, police and coaches have said they are dissatisfied with how the school reacted. Police and prosecutors have said the school stood in their way when it came time to investigate the hazing allegations.