Leechburg Police Chief Decides Not To File Charges In High School Hazing Case
LEECHBURG (KDKA) - The Leechburg Police Chief has decided not to file charges at this time in the case of hazing on the high school basketball team.
Many parents and community members did not want to comment Thursday after the announcement was made.
In a statement, Chief Michael Diebold came right out and said, "The decision to not file charges is not at all based upon the validity of the allegations."
The chief said Pennsylvania does not have any law criminalizing hazing in a high school. As a result, they had to determine if there was criminal intent in what allegedly took place.
The allegations are that for 10 years, players on the basketball team were assaulted with a phallic-like 'Yoshi Stick' in a sexual manner, sometimes as part of initiation.
"For some reason that has yet to be discovered, this activity was able to ferment in the school's basketball program to a degree that allowed a decade of student athletes to develop a state of mind that this behavior was acceptable and traditional," Chief Diebold said.
In a statement, Chief Diebold said the reason charges are not being filed is because:
"The investigation reveals that these acts were committed not with criminal intent, but rather the investigation disturbingly reveals that those involved believed it to be a normal tradition of the basketball team."
Mayor Shawn Lerch has also criticized the school district, saying in a statement:
"I personally find it incomprehensible that these actions have been able to take place for as long as they have and school officials were clueless to it. I cannot even begin to describe the level of incompetence that I feel would be required to allow this situation to grow as it has."
The Armstrong County district attorney says his office will be making recommendations to the school district as well.
The investigation will remain open, in case any new evidence is found.
The school's solicitor said they are currently waiting for the police and district attorney to turn over their results and findings from the investigation.
The district has also hired Andrews and Price to independently look at what occurred and if the district's means of approaching the situation were appropriate.
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