HS Student 'Branded' During NJ Hazing Incident: Police

Two New York high school students have been charged with assault and other offenses during a hazing incident that took place at a Burlington County hotel, authorities announced.

One of the hazing targets was burned with a hot iron on the buttocks, among other numerous instances of assault at the Hilton Garden Inn in Westampton, according to authorities.

A second person was also mistreated in the hotel room, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Westampton Township Police Chief Stephen Ent announced.

Later, in another room at the hotel, two other members of the group were forced to engage in humiliating conduct, according to authorities.

The students were enrolled at the Francis Lewis High School in Queens and were on an overnight trip to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst for a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps competition in April 2018 when the hazing took place, authorities said.

“Hazing does not bring organizations together; rather, it tears them apart,” Coffina said. “There is no team-building benefit from injuring and humiliating junior members of a group as a rite of passage. Stripped of whatever ‘ritual’ it purports to be, this conduct is nothing more than assault and bullying, which we will prosecute just as vigorously as any other case, seeking to vindicate the rights and dignity of the victims who are harmed.”

The two students charged were 16 when the incidents occurred, and they weren’t identified because they are under the age of 18.

The first defendant faces charges of second-degree aggravated assault, five counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of third-degree invasion of privacy, third-degree aggravated assault, third-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, third-degree conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, third-degree criminal coercion, fourth-degree aggravated hazing and three counts of hazing.

The second defendant was charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault, five counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, third-degree conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, two counts of third-degree invasion of privacy, third-degree criminal sexual contact, fourth-degree aggravated hazing and three counts of hazing.

The defendants were extradited to New Jersey on March 28. Probable cause to proceed with the charges was established during a hearing held earlier this month in the juvenile section of Superior Court in Mount Holly.

Anyone who would like to report information about this case is asked to call the Westampton Township Police Department at 609-267-3000 and speak to Detective Sergeant Chieffalo.