Arrested Hart Players to Play

Five Hart High varsity football players arrested Tuesday for allegedly kidnaping a 17-year-old girl will not face disciplinary action from the school, Hart Athletic Director Bill Beauer said Thursday.

“We don’t have any jurisdiction,” Beauer said. “It has nothing to do with the school. . . . What they do after hours on their own time is not our business.”

Beauer said that all five players will be allowed to play in Hart’s game tonight against Burbank. The players were released into their parents’ custody after the arrests.

The alleged kidnaping occurred early Saturday and appeared to be a prank, a police spokesman said. The boys forced the girl, a schoolmate, into a van and left her on Pico Canyon Road. Walking out of the canyon, the girl once more was forced into the van, then was taken to a friend’s home in Newhall.