Hazing Charges Filed In Wall Football Locker Room Incidents

FREEHOLD, NJ — Hazing, harassment and criminal sexual contact charges have been filed against "a number" of Wall Township High School students as the result of two investigations by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey announced Monday.

Linskey did not say how many students have been charged.

Juvenile complaints charging hazing, attempted criminal sexual contact, criminal sexual contact, false imprisonment, and harassment were filed in connection with incidents in September and October 2021 in the Wall Township High School football team’s locker room, she said.

One juvenile was charged with aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault in an unrelated incident that happened outside of school, Linskey said.

"The results of our investigations necessitated the filing of juvenile complaints against those involved in order to serve the interests of justice," Linskey said.

"It is imperative that victims of hazing, harassment, intimidation, and bullying know that such conduct is not a 'rite of passage' and should not be endured without consequence in order to gain acceptance in social, club, sport, or academic settings," she said regarding the hazing investigation.

"We are hopeful that the lessons gleaned from this case foster a renewed focus on actively teaching juveniles in all of our schools what conduct crosses the line of acceptability, and what students must do if they are a bystander or victim of hazing, harassment, intimidation, or bullying," she said.

Videos of the incident reportedly have circulated since October, according to an NJ.com report that described the content of one video. That report said the 14-second video shows four boys holding the victim while a fifth approaches with a broomstick.

The prosecutor's office rarely releases information in cases involving juveniles, but authorities said it was being released in this case "in response to intense public scrutiny regarding these matters and a high degree of misinformation circulating with regard to them, as well as in order to educate and inform the community regarding the seriousness of such conduct."

The prosecutor's office said it would not release the number of juveniles charged and will maintain strict confidentiality under the state's juvenile justice laws. Family Court proceedings involving juveniles are closed to the public.

Videos of the incident reportedly have circulated since October. On Monday, an NJ.com report described the content of one video that was shared with the publication's reporters. That report said the 14-second video shows four boys holding the victim while a fifth approaches with a broomstick, and describes the victim's fight to get away.

Rumors swirled about the incidents until November, when Wall Township School District officials first acknowledged there was an investigation into a hazing incident after an initial report about the videos and allegations.

In the months since, several school employees were placed on leave, including three coaches and athletic director Thomas Ridoux and seven students were suspended as well. Wall's Thanksgiving football game was canceled and the team was withdrawn from the NJSIAA playoffs.

A heated school board meeting in November included the resignation of one board member and a number of students and Wall High School alumni recounting harassment and bullying they had experienced. Read more: Wall Alumni Recall Culture Of Harassment Amid Hazing Probe

A 1997 graduate told the school board he had been a victim of two locker room assaults and only told his parents about one of them for the first time after the reports about the current hazing investigation. He said that he was dragged by upperclassmen to the locker room, dragged across the floor, kicked and whipped with towels, pads and helmets.

A 2020 graduate told the board she had witnessed "on a frequent basis" stories of racism, homophobia, bullying, sexual assault, sexual harassment and teacher-student relationships.

"It's obvious to all students and alumni that these recent situations are not isolated tragedies," she said. " They instead speak to a larger corrupt pattern of administration shrugging off incidents in order to save face and protect those who they deem their most valuable."

Superintendent Tracey Handerhan has said when the administration learned of the hazing rumor, "the school immediately contacted law enforcement and appropriate state agencies."