4 High School Football Players Arrested in Rape, Battery Linked to Hazing Cases

San Bernardino County sheriff’s investigators said Monday that they have arrested four Yucca Valley High School football players on suspicion of rape and false imprisonment in connection with hazing incidents that, officials charge, became criminal acts.

The incidents took place in August and September, but are surfacing now because a parent complained Oct. 27. The incidents “appeared to be criminal in nature,” said Adrienne Baldwin of the sheriff’s Morongo Basin office.

After interviewing students about the allegations, investigators arrested four football team members Friday. The students, who were not identified, were arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment, sexual battery, rape with a foreign object and conspiracy. They will be charged as juveniles, Baldwin said, and have been released to the custody of their parents.

There were no reports of serious injuries, and there is nothing to indicate that adults or school officials were involved in the hazing incidents, sheriff’s officials said.

The details of the allegations, including the identify of the alleged victim, are not being disclosed to the public “to preserve the integrity of the investigation,” Baldwin said.

Detectives are planning to conduct as many as 100 interviews, mostly of students at the school. “It is unclear how many people are involved and how many incidents actually occurred,” Baldwin said.