Three basketball players at a Tennessee high school have been accused of the rape and aggravated assault of a 15-year-old teammate after the teen collapsed following a hazing incident, authorities say.
The three unnamed Ooltewah High School players were arrested and are being held in a juvenile center in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, the city where the hazing incident reportedly took place.
A press release from the Gatlinburg Police Department reports that the Ooltewah team was playing a tournament in Gatlinburg when the incident occurred in a rental cabin in which team members stayed.
The victim was initially taken to LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville by the team’s coach, Andre Montgomery, but the initial exam was inconclusive. But not long afterward the teen collapsed.
According to The Chattanoogan, the family reported that the boy, “was not given a proper exam and collapsed the following day. Once he collapsed, he was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. He had to undergo emergency surgery, as his colon and bladder were ruptured.”
A family member of the teen says that his teammates “tortured” the victim and family members say he was “beaten and sodomized by fellow teammates” using a pool cue. He is also reportedly having nightmares over the incident.
The police statement notes that three juveniles were charged on December 28 and remanded to the Sevier County Juvenile Detention Facility.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help defray costs.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.