4 Players Accused In Wheaton College Hazing Plead 'Not Guilty'

WHEATON, IL — Four of the five Wheaton College players charged with violently hazing an underclassman entered not guilty pleas at an arraignment Monday morning. Kyler Kregel, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Samuel Tebos, of Allendale Michigan, Ben Pettway, of Lookout Mountain, Georgia, and Noah Spielman, of Columbus, Ohio, appeared in court Monday. The fifth player, James Cooksey, of Jacksonville, Florida, is set to appear for an arraignment on Nov. 13.

All five football players have been charged with mob action, aggravated battery and unlawful restraint in a March 2016 incident that allegedly left a freshman beaten and bound on a nearby baseball field. In court documents, the victim alleges that the players kidnapped him, restrained him with duct tape, and threatened him sexually with an object before leaving him with two torn shoulders on the baseball field.

Another student was allegedly hazed, but no charges were filed in that incident.

Judge Brian Telander placed a gag order in early October to prevent Wheaton Police from sharing details of the case. An attorney for one of the players asked Telander to lift the gag order to allow the players' lawyers to publicly deny the allegations of sexual threats, Daily Herald reports.

The players are due to appear in court again on Oct. 31.

>>Images via Wheaton Police Department

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