2 More Football Players Arrested in Hazing

Two more high school football players were arrested Tuesday as residents of this wind-swept desert town appeared divided over accusations that a hazing incident escalated to false imprisonment and rape.

In all, six members of the Yucca Valley High School varsity and junior varsity football teams have been booked on felony counts in connection with an incident that occurred in August or September but did not become public until the parents of the alleged victim filed a complaint on Oct. 27.

The players, some of whom are honor students, were booked on suspicion of false imprisonment, sexual battery, rape with a foreign object and conspiracy. A relative of one of the football coaches said the object was a wooden stick.

The six players arrested were released to the custody of their parents, and formal charges have not been filed. Neither the suspects, all high school juniors and seniors, nor the alleged victim, an underclassman, have been identified.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said it is looking into previous hazing incidents involving at least three other possible victims.

“This is a unique situation in that we’ve had parents who have been very upset over what happened, and others who are in denial,” said sheriff’s Sgt. Fred Gonzalez.

One of those who says the accusations are overblown is the mother of an assistant football coach and two football players who have not been linked to any of the incidents.

The woman, who asked that her name not be used, said the wooden stick has been part of off-color jokes in the football locker room for some time.

She said the stick was just “jabbed at” the victim named in the complaint.

“There was no penetration; he was laughing,” she said. “It was not a sexual act, they were just messing around.”

The woman said the six suspects “are all wrongfully accused.”

Others, like Lynn Conrad, 41, aren’t so sure.

“To me, this was an adult crime,” she said. “Even though they’re children, they knew right from wrong, and should have to pay.”

Conrad’s 15-year-old stepdaughter, Torree Finch, said what happened “was morally wrong, degrading, sick, illegal and just twisted. . . .

“Football camaraderie is sort of accepted around here,” said Torree, a student at the high school. “But this crossed the line.”

Another 15-year-old high school student, who gave his name only as Robbie, said the hazing by upperclassmen at the school scared him.

“One of my friends got beaten up,” the boy said. “They took off his clothes and left him sitting in a cold shower. They mess around with you just to get their kicks.”

Doug Dweller, principal of the high school, declined to comment.

Patricia Brown-Dempsey, superintendent of the Morongo Valley Unified School District, issued a statement saying incidents like the one in which the arrests were made “are serious violations of students’ rights, and the activity can’t be condoned or allowed to continue.”

Still undetermined is whether the six players--several of whom are considered star athletes--will be allowed to compete in Thursday’s varsity game with Twentynine Palms, the biggest game of the year in two towns that celebrate high school football.