STrib: Proctor HS football season canceled amid 'serious misconduct' investigation

So, the one kid ... stuck the plunger handle ... up there? Jezuz

And the others held him down?? I get that they didn't think he was going to do it. But when he pulled the pants down, don't you go "whoa dude! what the hell??" and tackle him?
Lord of the Flies
 


By no means is this minimizing the crime that occurred, but I wonder if this specific incident would have occurred pre-pandemic. I know these sick types of crime occurred prior to, but our youth (adults as well) has to re-learn how behave in society. I feel for students across our country. Coaches, teachers and administrators will tell you they’re seeing behaviors they never have. Very sad times were in…
1989:
 

This might be the most poorly constructed series of paragraphs I’ve ever read. If anything, I’m now more confused.
Well done, Strib!
The Srib has been awkwardly trying to omit the graphic details of what he is being charged with.

That’s been the issue with this story all along. No one wants to mention details out of “respect for the victim” or to “protect the minors” who were not involved/ not guilty of a crime, etc. That makes some sense. But it also made it look like a cover-up may be in the works.

With the investigation and resulting charges, it looks unlikely there was any cover-up happening afterall.
 

Weak accurately describes the Strib. I’m surprised they didn’t put the “hard hitting” Rochelle Olson on this story. It feels like her awful journalism.
 


Hope they get the conviction. And this guy didn't act alone. Hope the prosecution gets the names of everyone else involved and puts them behind bars as well.
I know of another case where you could say the exact same thing. And i totally agree with you on this case btw.
 

By no means is this minimizing the crime that occurred, but I wonder if this specific incident would have occurred pre-pandemic. I know these sick types of crime occurred prior to, but our youth (adults as well) has to re-learn how behave in society. I feel for students across our country. Coaches, teachers and administrators will tell you they’re seeing behaviors they never have. Very sad times were in…

ESPN - An Outside The Lines Investigation: High School Athletic Hazing Involving Sodomy

A troubling trend is plaguing school athletic programs across the country: hazing incidents involving sodomy. Outside the Lines has found more than 40 such incidents since 2011, including seven so far this year.

The majority of these type of incidents likely never get reported, experts say, and no state or federal agency tracks them. A code of silence often prevents witnesses and victims from speaking out -- though some do.

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A Minnesotan’s idea of hazing leads to a guilty plea for sexual assault

One man's hazing is another man's sexual assault. Former Browerville (Minn.) High football and basketball standout Seth Kellen discovered that the hard way.

The 19-year-old pled guilty to fourth-degree criminal sexual assault in district court on Monday, admitting to the digitally penetration of a 17-year-old teammate in March 2012 among several other disturbing accusations, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Former Browerville teammates and co-defendants Connor S. Burns and Seth Christiansen also reached plea agreements back in November, the report said, but neither received as stiff a penalty as the 30-day jail sentence and 10 years of probation facing Kellen.

The gruesome charges against Kellen emerged last summer, when he and Burns were charged with 10 counts of criminal sexual misconduct. In addition to the digital penetration, here are a few of those charges from the Minneapolis Star Tribune report:
  • "Pulling down his pants while in a Minneapolis parking-ramp elevator with his teammates and two student managers, ages 11 and 12."
  • "Jumping on teammates’ backs and hitting them with his penis."
  • "Sexually assaulting football and basketball teammates numerous times."
None of that sounds like ordinary hazing. Yet, Kellen's lawyer, Chris Karpan, continued to argue that those acts were not sexually driven, but instead "part of a common culture of horseplay and hazing that's gone on for years" at the small-town school.

What the case truly highlights is the always gray area between sexual assault and hazing, particularly when a hazing culture has truly taken root. While there is no question that Kellen's action constitute full sexual assault, the comments of multiple teens who were assaulted made it clear that they were never sure if they were being assaulted themselves.



Report alleges ongoing 'Rape Game' at Richland, ND School District

Disturbing details of sodomy and sexual assault dating back to 2015 in the Richland 44 School District are described in an independent report that says school leaders failed to sufficiently respond to allegations of student hazing and sexual misconduct.

The district hired a Minneapolis law firm, Langevin Lentz, to investigate the matter and compile the findings in a report, which The Forum obtained Friday, April 6, through a public records request. In the 46-page report, Superintendent Tim Godfrey, high school Principal Bruce Anderson and Athletic Director John Freeman-whose departures from the district were announced this week-claim to have not known before Jan. 17 that variations of something called the "rape game" had been occurring for years.

It was on Jan. 17 that two parents confronted Godfrey about the "rape game," one stating that their child came home with "holes in his underwear." The report also says at least two incidents of sexual misconduct were reported to Anderson and a coach but were not investigated. A parent reported to Anderson in fall 2017 concerns about inappropriate locker room behavior involving male middle school students after physical education class. The parent said students were poking each other in the butt. Anderson spoke with the teacher and students, but the report says the school should have investigated further.

One assistant coach told the law firm that several years ago when he was a student athlete at Richland 44, another student athlete began something called "the rape game." Descriptions of this so-called "game" vary, but involve turning off the lights, typically in a locker room, running around and trying to stick fingers up others' butts or poking them in the butt through clothes with fingers or objects.

Others described the "rape game" as sexual assault, sodomy or sexual harassment. The report says "there is not a consistent understanding of what the 'rape game' is, what behavior occurred or even what behavior has been reported." But variations of the "rape game" have been occuring at the school since the 2015-2016 school year.

According to the report, Godfrey said there would be supervision in the locker rooms to address the situation. However, at the Jan. 19 game, junior varsity players were in the locker room unsupervised, the report states. "A number of parents reported their deep disappointment at the failure of the superintendent, principal, athletic director and coaches to provide locker room supervision that the parents believed they have been promised," the report states.

The law firm's report notes that the lack of supervision and security in locker rooms, as well as clear communication between the district and parents, "greatly affected everyone involved and significantly impacted the community." Lack of communication was the result of several factors, including some teachers' and parents' pre-existing lack of confidence in Godfrey, students' reluctance to talk about sensitive matters and intense emotional reactions from all concerned, according to the report.

"Throughout this report there are indicators that suggest our entire Richland 44 community must take a collective look at the culture in our junior/senior high school," Amundson wrote in a letter. "Our children are watching and waiting for us to set the example and show them the way forward from these past few months. We do not intend to let them down."








 
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Blame the absence of ordered freedom
The corrosion and erosion within religious organizations that allow predators to ascend to positions of influence and power is more to blame. Freedom without ethics or morality is anarchy.
 



Good lord.

I don't care what you had to go through as a freshman. If you stick anything "up there" on a teammate, you need to go to jail. And be required to go through therapy, etc.
AFAIK predatory behaviors, ones of dominance, have been removed from the latest version of the DSM for shrinks.
 

The corrosion and erosion within religious organizations that allow predators to ascend to positions of influence and power is more to blame. Freedom without ethics or morality is anarchy.
The train is only free when it runs on the track.
 

Former Proctor football player pleads guilty to felony assault of teammate​


The former Proctor, Minn., high school football player charged with sexually assaulting his teammate last fall pleaded guilty Tuesday in Duluth juvenile court.

The 18-year-old man, who was 17 at the time of the September incident, was set for a hearing to determine whether his case would be moved to adult court. Instead, an agreement was reached between the defense and St. Louis County prosecution for him to receive a juvenile court sanction, enforced until age 21, with an additional adult sentence enforced if he violates court orders.

Prosecutor Korey Horn said he had consulted with the victim and his family and "we believe the community is best served" with the agreement.

The Star Tribune typically does not name juveniles charged with crimes.

The teen was charged by juvenile court petition in January with third-degree criminal sexual conduct — a felony — for assaulting a teammate with a plunger.

The investigation began in mid-September after a complaint of "student misconduct" within the football team. It led to the resignation of coach Derek Parendo and the cancellation of the football season. Proctor police completed their five-week investigation in late October.

According to police, a third party over Labor Day weekend sent a lewd photo to a group of Proctor football players on the social media platform Snapchat, using the victim's phone and Snapchat account. It prompted a response over the platform that the victim was "going to get the plunger." Interviews with football players revealed that a plunger was regularly used during "crass" locker-room behaviors, such as touching other players with the rubber end. None of those stories shared involved sexual assault, something the charged teen confirmed during Tuesday's hearing.

After practice Sept. 7, the petition says, the victim was in the locker room across the street from the high school when he was confronted by the suspect with the plunger. He fled outside toward the field, thinking it was another plunger joke, and was chased by the suspect and other players, at least some of whom allegedly held him down for the assault.

During questioning from attorneys and Judge Dale O. Harris Tuesday, the teen named six other players who allegedly chased, tackled and held down the victim, some he said also pulled down his pants. He confirmed he was the person who performed the attack, something he said he had "joked" to others he would do before it was done.

Witnesses told police they thought the suspect was joking until the moment he pulled the victim's pants down, and many reported being unsure who helped hold him down. After the alleged attack, the suspect threw the plunger at the victim, the petition says, and returned to the locker room saying, "I did it" and "I bet you guys didn't think I was going to do it."

On Tuesday, the teen said he didn't recall what he said at the time.

The school district of about 1,800 faced intense scrutiny in the wake of the incident. Student athletes became the subjects of taunts and jeering from opposing teams, many afraid to wear clothing that identified their school. Others, upset with silence from school leaders in the wake of another school-related sexual assault allegation, questioned whether the schools were safe.

Retiring superintendent John Engelking — who will be replaced by Kerry Juntunen — has said problems within the football program would be addressed. The Proctor School Board recently approved the hiring of a new football coach, Matt Krivinchuk, an assistant coach at Superior High School.

Disposition for the Proctor teen, who attended the hearing with his parents, is set for June 20.


Go Gophers!!
 

So, the one kid ... stuck the plunger handle ... up there? Jezuz

And the others held him down?? I get that they didn't think he was going to do it. But when he pulled the pants down, don't you go "whoa dude! what the hell??" and tackle him?

NY cops did this back in 1997 to Abner Louima first I ever heard of a plunger being used in that way

 




That “kid” who is 17 at the time should’ve been charged in adult court and been given serious prison time

Then the story should be published in every school in the country as a means of idiocy prevention
 



That “kid” who is 17 at the time should’ve been charged in adult court and been given serious prison time

Then the story should be published in every school in the country as a means of idiocy prevention

Exactly
 

That “kid” who is 17 at the time should’ve been charged in adult court and been given serious prison time

Then the story should be published in every school in the country as a means of idiocy prevention
Yep. The victim will be traumatized by this for the rest of his life. Every high school reunion, every bonfire discussion of Proctor high school football "glory days," every trip down memory lane with his high school yearbook. The kid who did this should pay a price for that. And yeah... the story (and punishment) should be mandatory for participants in all MSHSL activities.
 

Former Proctor football player sentenced to probation, must register as a sex offender​


The former Proctor, Minn., high school football player charged with sexually assaulting a teammate last fall was placed on probation Monday and must register as a sex offender for 10 years.

The 18-year-old, who was 17 at the time of the September incident, pleaded guilty last month after an agreement was reached between the defense and St. Louis County prosecution to keep his case within juvenile jurisdiction, rather than asking the court to treat him as an adult. On Monday, Judge Dale O. Harris placed him on supervised probation until his 21st birthday. If he violates probation, guidelines call for a 4-year prison sentence.

The Star Tribune typically does not name juveniles charged with crimes.

The teen was charged by juvenile court petition in January with third-degree criminal sexual conduct — a felony — for assaulting a teammate with a plunger.

The victim's mother read a statement from her son Monday. He said the incident, led by someone he was close to, "will affect my life forever." He and his family have endured rumors, pain and stress, and he is receiving therapy, he wrote.

"I have to think about it every day," the statement read. However, "I feel like [the charged teen] realized what he did was wrong."

The charged teen, accompanied by his parents, spoke in court, apologizing to the victim and his family.

"I made a mistake I will forever regret," he said. "I ask that you will still look at me as a young man and believe change can happen."

Harris said he received 21 pages of character letters for the charged teen, and commended the victim's family for the compassion they've shown him.

Addressing the perpetrator, Harris noted he had earlier said the assault was a joke that had gone too far. He asked him rhetorically, "what level of humiliation and degradation is acceptable to you?"

He also said he was confident that he hadn't acted alone, and while some won't face punishment, some may. Harris noted there was a football coach who either created or permitted a "toxic culture," and school employees who knew this and failed to intervene.

"It's clear to me the problem went deeper than one action on one day," Harris said, and that he hopes the teen's young age gives him a chance to change his ways of thinking.

 

I’ll say this- if you played sports and didn’t get hazed you were lucky. It needed to stop yrs and yrs ago.
 


Or joined a fraternity...

Abusive consumption of alcohol is much more widely found than merely stereotypical targets. The dangers come from the arrogantly entitled and those who hide in the shadows.
 


as far as "hazing" - I would draw the line at anything physical (i.e. being duct taped to the goalposts) or forced intoxication.

now, making a freshman carry equipment for the seniors, or making someone stand on a chair and sing the school song, that's different - as long as everyone understands why it's being done - as a team bonding ritual as opposed to singling someone out for punishment or ridicule.
 

I played small college football 20+ years ago. We had an "initiation" party but it was truly voluntary. The seniors made it very clear that if some didn't want to participate it was fine. Some participated more than others. Some just came to hang out. It was a blast. For everyone. And that's what it should always be like. I'll never understand getting joy out of humiliating someone. How the hell does that help your team or group?
 

I played college baseball and we had an initiation party every year for the freshman. It usually involved excessive alcohol and bat races, occasionally the eating of something gross (I ate some minnows). Looking back, I realize how stupid it was.......
 

I’ll say this- if you played sports and didn’t get hazed you were lucky. It needed to stop yrs and yrs ago.
I played soccer and baseball throughout high school in the '80s. I was never hazed, nor did I ever haze anyone else. Maybe I was lucky. Or maybe I just wasn't surrounded by assholes.
 




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