Ohio high school student involved in the sexual assault of a teammate was sentenced.
An Ohio high school student involved in the sexual assault of a teammate was sentenced on Wednesday. At the time of the alleged assault, the boy attended Wyoming High School and played for the school’s baseball team.
In April of 2023, the teen and two other teammates sexually assaulted their fellow player in the locker room. All of the boys were 15 years old at the time.
The young survivor’s father stated that his son no longer feels comfortable playing baseball. “These young men did things to my son that he has to wrestle with for the rest of his life,” he said.
Mark Krumbien, the lawyer for the accused teenager, said in court Wednesday that he will not excuse his client’s behavior: "He made a terrible mistake. He's not denying it. He's… taking responsibility for it. Because of his actions, he's already lost a big chunk of his youth and it was his fault.”
Wyoming City School district superintendent Tim Weber said that the allegations do not align with the district’s core values. He states that he is “absolutely horrified by the incident alleged to have taken place in the… locker room on Friday, April 28," and that he hopes to "take the strongest actions possible to support those in need."
In court on Wednesday, the young man pleaded guilty to abduction, hazing and felonious assault. This verdict did not include the sex crimes he was previously charged with.
The prosecution hoped to penalize the perpetrator and assert that violence and sexual assault are intolerable. Although the verdict was not his desired outcome, the survivor’s father knows that his son is resilient. “He will overcome his tragedy.”
Another one of the teenagers will be sentenced in June, while the timeline for the third boy remains unclear.
Authors: Alexis Kabat and Andy Goldwasser
