CANTON, Ohio — No criminal charges will be filed against the Massillon Washington High School football players involved in an alleged hazing incident this past summer, Stark County Prosecuting Attorney Kyle L. Stone has confirmed.
In a statement issued Tuesday evening, Stone said his office had completed a "thorough review" of the matter, which purportedly involved four players accused of tackling a teammate to the ground and taking off his shorts during a late June practice. While Stone strongly admonished the teens who committed the act, he expressed his belief that, under the law, it could only be classified as "locker room horseplay that went too far."
"While this behavior is inexcusable, it doesn't rise to the level of criminality," Stone declared.
The incident occurred during a Tigers football practice in late June, but didn't become public knowledge until mid-July, when Stone says he and others at the prosecutor's office were made aware of the allegations. A police report obtained by 3News said members of the team were playing a "game" in which roughly half a dozen teens would tackle another player and attempt to get an article of clothing off of him.
Most of those who were tackled merely lost something like a shoe, but the player from the incident in question was apparently naked from the waist down after his shorts were taken. Authorities say at least one teammate recorded the episode on Snapchat but wound up deleting it, eventually showing it to head coach and athletic director Nate Moore. Moore later provided police with a second video of the incident, saying it was provided to him by a booster club member whose daughter received it from someone else.
Due to the alleged sharing of the footage, Stone says he is not completely closing the case, as such actions could constitute a crime involving child pornography.
"We take the sharing of imagery of children in vulnerable states very seriously, and will apply the law accordingly," Stone wrote.
The player whose pants were pulled down previously told police he did not want to see his teammates charged. Moore was placed on paid administrative leave while the school district conducted an internal investigation, but was reinstated within two weeks.
Massillon is set to open its regular season on Aug. 18 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium against Valdosta, Georgia.