Report of 2nd Wheaton College football hazing victim; 2 of 5 players in custody
WHEATON, Ill. (WLS) -- There was reportedly a second victim of hazing at the hands of a group of Wheaton College football players, according to ABC7 Eyewitness News partner, the Daily Herald.
The Daily Herald reports the alleged second victim, a freshman at the time, did not reach out to police for an investigation and was not injured. According to a recent roster, he is still on the team.
Felony hazing charges were announced Monday evening for five players, 22-year-old James Cooksey, 21-year-old Kyle Kregel, 21-year-old Ben Pettway, 21-year-old Noah Spielman and 22-year-old Samuel Tebos. They were charged with aggravated battery, unlawful restraint and mob action.
Noah R. Spielman
City of Wheaton
Noah Spielman left the police station after turning himself in around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. Spielman is the son of former Ohio State and Detroit Lions football player Chris Spielman. The former NFL linebacker's agent, Brian Duncan, told ABC News there was no discussion of criminal charges and that the family is shocked.
"Noah has willingly surrendered to law enforcement to face these allegations and will continue to cooperate with authorities moving forward," Mark Sutter, Spielman's attorney, said in a statement to ABC7.
Spielman was the second suspect to surrender to police, after Kregel walked into the police station with his parents and attorney earlier that day. Kregel is expected back in court Oct. 23 for his arraignment.
The players are accused of dragging a freshman teammate - kicking and screaming - out of his dorm room last March, tying him with duct tape, and leaving him beaten and half-naked with two torn shoulders on a baseball field.
Kyler S. Kregel
City of Wheaton
The student left the school immediately after the incident.
A year later, all five players were still listed on the 2017 Wheaton football roster - until now. Three of them played in last Saturday's game.
"I question at this point whether the school handled this in an appropriate and serious manner or whether this was something they just wanted to go away," said Terry Ekl, the alleged victim's attorney. "Where's the discipline? Suspension from school. Kicked out of school. Suspended from the football team. Kicked off the football team. None. Of those things happened."
"It's very sad because I don't think that it reflects the entirety of the school or the school's values or the student body as a whole," said Blake Bazen, a graduate student at Wheaton College.
As of midday Wednesday, James Cooksey, Ben Pettway and Samuel Tebos were not yet in custody.
