The football hazing/sodomy scandal that rocked Conestoga last year won’t be going to trial after all.
The three accused ex-players today admitted in court only to harassing their freshman teammate.
In exchange for that admission, the really nasty charges – assault, making terrorist threats, conspiracy, unlawful restraint, possession of an instrument of crime – were all dropped. (Their trial on those charges was to have begun this morning.)
And remember the DA’s vile account of what went down in the locker room in October 2015?
Well, that’s been dropped, too. Or at least radically revised.
“One of the charged juveniles poked the victim with a broom stick in the leg,” reads the statement issued jointly today by Chester County DA Tom Hogan and lawyers for the three defendants.
A poke to the leg, eh?
So much for the horrific broom stick sodomy the DA described when he announced charges in a televised news conference last March.
The upshot of today’s closed, two-hour hearing before Court of Common Pleas Judge Ronald Nagel: this whole sorry mess goes bye-bye.
To which we say: Good riddance.
Assuming the trio, now college freshmen, continue to keep their noses clean, their records will be expunged in six months, says Dorian Ross, father of one of the defendants. They won’t be fined and won’t be on probation, he says.
The three have been on “pre-adjudication supervision” – requiring weekly check-ins with a juvenile parole officer – since the DA leveled charges. When the scandal broke, Conestoga suspended the seniors for ten days and axed its entire football coaching staff.
Ross tells SAVVY he’s relieved the case is over. Still, he remains bitter.
He insists his son is innocent of all charges, including harassment.
“I was confident that we would win if we went to trial,” Ross says. “They didn’t have a case. But my son is 18 now. It was his decision [to avoid trial]. And I trust and support it.” (After a semester commuting to Delco, his son will leave for Kutztown shortly, where he will play rugby, not football.)
Ross says he’s “disgusted” by the way the case was handled. He calls the investigation “sloppy,” the alleged victim “not credible,” eyewitness accounts “inconsistent” and the DA “grandstanding.”
He says he “waited almost a year for a charge that’s like a parking ticket or speeding ticket” … while his son’s “life and reputation have been tarnished.”
The DA and the school district – no surprise – declined our request for comment on today’s proceedings, citing the confidentiality requirement in all juvenile court cases.
Meanwhile, the alleged victim appears to have landed on his feet.
Expelled from Conestoga last year after he was charged with sexting/cyberbullying, he now attends Valley Forge Military Academy, where he plays football.
And where, according to Ross, his $31,000 tuition, room and board are paid for by the T/E School District because he’s technically “homeless” and his last known residence was in T/E.
A soft landing if there ever was one.
For the record, the official statement from the DA’s office and defense attorneys Vincent DiFabio, Timothy Woodward and Michael Malloy reads as follows:
The three juveniles have accepted responsibility for their conduct. They have made an admission to the criminal summary offense of harassment, which makes it a crime to intentionally subject another person to physical contact. On a Thursday afternoon, the juvenile victim and other younger football players were directed to clean the locker room. When the victim refused to clean and attempted to leave the locker room, he was shoved, pushed and briefly held down by the three charged juveniles in an effort to get him to clean the locker room. One of the charged juveniles briefly poked the victim with a broom stick in the leg. The intent of the charged juveniles was to scare the victim and coerce him to cooperate with other team members in the joint cleanup of the locker room, and not to do the victim any physical harm. The victim did not suffer any physical injury, and reported the incident to his father months later, after the victim was charged with a juvenile offense. The juvenile victim, the Chester County District Attorney’s Office, and the three juveniles charged are in full agreement with this disposition.
The statement concludes with this:
The victim, the charged juveniles, and their respective families all would like the opportunity to move on with their lives. We all hope never to see an incident like this in Chester County again.
Amen to that.
Does anyone have information about a law or rule which requires TE taxpayers to foot the educational expenses of a “homeless” person whose last home was in TE? I assume this is more about finding a way to end the saga by satisfying the “victim.”
Funny you should ask. Just heard back from School Board President Kevin Buraks. It’s against district policy to comment on specific cases but he did copy-paste me T/E’s policy on “homeless” students:
Homeless Students
The District recognizes its obligation to ensure that homeless students have access to the same educational programs and services provided to District students. The District shall make reasonable efforts to identify homeless children within the district, encourage their enrollment, and eliminate possible barriers to their attendance and education, in compliance with federal and state laws and regulations. To this end, the Board may waive policies, procedures and administrative regulations that create barriers for enrollment, attendance, transportation, and success in school of homeless students, based on the recommendations of the Superintendent.
The District designates the Director of Individualized Student Services as the District’s liaison for homeless students and families.
Where does it say that taxpayers have to foot the bill for an elite private school????
The person who started this entire BS story now has his school tuition paid by TE, membership to the Upper Main Line YMCA (due to income being below poverty level). What else can we give him? Maybe a broom stick so he can get a part-time job sweeping up all the B.S. he caused to all coaches, students, etc.
No charges for the “victim” who filed a false report? No admission from the D.A. that these kids were accused by him, in a dramatically public way, cameras rolling, with no credible evidence? This travesty cost many jobs, much heartache, and tragedy for these families. Shame on you, Tom Hogan.
Because of one punk, one of the finest high school football coaches on the Main Line has his reputation destroyed and is forced to resign. The TE School Board should get on their knees and beg John Vogan to return. He taught his players so much more than football. Sportsmanship, camaraderie, and loyalty to your school were among his many lessons. Tredyffrin – Easttown School District, Conestoga High School and the Chester County D.A. owe this man (and his coaches) a huge apology
This is a bully session based on some snowflakes who have mummy and daddy and other Main Line football lovers in a tizzy. If you commit such a horrific crime, you must pay. What don’t you see about this? You are bullying this victim. Shame on you.
Based on the DA’s statement, no “horrific crime” was committed! Students and coaches were defamed based on a lie told by this “victim” which was perpetuated by a grandstanding DA.
I totally agree with all the other statements. This is a travesty caused by a vindictive, obviously troubled young man who has learned he can get away with this.
Horrific crime? Didn’t happen. Did you read the story? You are 100% correct that no bullying is OK. In this case some kids got tough with a bratty teammate who refused to pull his weight. Their response to the brat was not OK but then that kid LIED and INVENTED a horrific crime that DID NOT HAPPEN. Causing lost jobs, derailed college plans, damaged reputations, and in one case a family tragedy. Mainly because this D.A. likes to see himself on TV more than he cares to respect due process.
There is no bullying this victim Betsy L. There was NO horrific crime committed. This “victim” was expelled for another offense and created a drama to get his father some consolation. As for the tuition–the district must educate this kid until he has graduated…and since he was expelled, it is either send him elsewhere or pay for tutors…VFMA is probably one of the few places that would take him as their population includes “complicated” students. The $31k is cheaper than the hourly rate homebound instructors receive. After the kid…and he is a kid, Hogan is the real bad guy in this scenario.
Sarah Jones you hit the nail on the head. Hogan is the biggest problem here. His theatrical announcement of the “horrific crime” was nothing more than a political platform for him. Hopefully TE residents will remember this in his next election!!
Thank you, Caroline, for reporting all the facts of this unfortunate incident.
I hope John Vogan seeks legal recourse for this tragedy that took away his livelihood. There is no coach I’ve ever known who cares about his players more than Coach Vogan. He dedicated his life to Conestoga Sports. It was a disgrace how he was treated by a school district that he gave decades of loyalty to.
Thank you for sharing the full story, unlike the major news stations who led viewers to believe those charged had plead guilty to all charges. Such a sad chapter for a great school, coaching staff, football team and their families.
I hope all continue to rise above and move forward with the bright futures they deserve, untarnished by this devastating and unfair life event.
Happy 2017!!!
This whole case is an embarrassment to the D.A., the district, and it’s officials, including all parents involved in this fake witch-hunt to punish innocent high-school kids. This whole thing stemmed from a father of a son with a personal vendetta against the school district (mind you, who ON VIDEO confessed the whole thing was made up), which seeked to legally punish 18 year olds, making national news headlines. As a CHS alumni, I am completely embarrassed at the actions taken by the school, district, D.A., and everyone who rode this fake hazing bandwagon. The firing of Coach Vogan, someone who’s life was CHS and CHS sports, payed the price at the fingers pointed by soft parents riding the back of district superiors to do something about it, impulsively costing a valued member of this community his job. Every time your kids throw on those expensive, new jerseys made by a big brand name sports company (you know who), remember those athletes who came before you and worked day in and day out to make a name for this school, to get you that sponsorship, while reminding underclassman to do their part – their JOB, because that’s what drives success—————–not by sodomizing them with broomsticks. You cross off the word hazing, and say harassment???? Despicable.
Oh what…NOW Tom Hogan keeps his mouth shut?! What a reprehensible job he did in this case. Whatever happened to investigating the facts first, the presumption of innocence before guilt or suffering consequences for lying to authorities or making false claims to the press? This entire episode is a sorry example of what can and does happen when publicity seeking politicians like him try to improve their Google rating by being salacious at great expense to others. The emotional and financial damage done to these kids, their families and the football staff cannot be undone. Tom Hogan is the bully here, shoving and pushing his own agenda to the front of the line. He should suffer a fraction of the shame these wrongly accused seniors have had to endure!
Under the radar…the family filed a Federal Lawsuit in November. Against coach and district.
It is not over. Shame on the school board.
Rich Gusick and most of all Hogan for kneeling down to these scam artists. Letting this stay open and letting these scammers continue.
Coach has to sue.