4 charged as adults in alleged Damascus High School broomstick hazing incident released on bond.
Jean Claude Abedi, Kristian Jamal Lee, Will Daniel Smith, Caleb Thorpe are facing charges including first-degree rape in the alleged Halloween locker room attack against 4 teammates on the Damascus JV football team; A fifth suspect is facing charges in juvenile court.
the 4 victims were forced inside a locker room where the suspects violently pushed them down to the floor and stuck the wooden broom into their buttocks. the victims underwent physical abuse as the suspects punched them and stamped over their bodies.
The assaults incident was discovered when the father of a victim found him sobbing in his room later that night and reported the horrific crime to the coaches and the principal.
Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said: “I’m offended by the term hazing. It’s not hazing, these are crimes, and I would caution anyone to refer to this as hazing. These boys were victims of criminal acts.”
he added, "They were not victims of hazing, they were victims of first-degree rapes.”
Montgomery County Public School District Superintendent Jack Smith said in a statement that the district is cooperating with police and providing support for Damascus High School students.
