4 Boyd High School students arrested in connection to hazing incident
BOYD, Texas - A hazing incident at Boyd High School earlier this month has led to the arrest of four students.
Boyd Hazing Arrests
What we know:
On Sept. 3, the Boyd Police Department responded to a criminal complaint about a hazing incident at Boyd High School.
The alleged incident took place in the field house at the high school.
Boyd PD's investigation led to the arrests of four students. Two of the students are juveniles, while 17-year-old Chason Lee-Earl Tucker and 17-year-old Noah Davis Stevens are being charged as adults.
Tucker and Davis are both facing charges of injury to a child causing bodily injury, a felony, and unlawful restraint.
Both have been booked into the Wise County Jail.
Dig deeper:
According to arrest warrant affidavits for Stevens and Tucker, the victim in the case is a 14-year-old student who was physically restrained by the upperclassmen in the boys' locker room.
The older boys dragged the victim into the shower and removed his clothes. They allegedly tried to remove his underwear but were unsuccessful, so Tucker pulled down his own pants and sat on the victim with his bare bottom.
The affidavit states a coach came into the locker room after hearing a commotion and told the teens to settle down, then walked back out of the locker room. When the victim later reported the incident, members of the coaching staff told him the situation needed to be handled in the locker room and not reported further up.
The victim suffered multiple bruises from being dragged and injured his hand while trying to get away from the older boys, according to the court document.
Police were able to watch part of the incident that was captured on a security camera positioned in the nearby weight room.
What they're saying:
An attorney for Stevens released the following statement:
"It's unfortunate that lawyers have to become involved in a situation that could have been addressed by the coaching staff. But here we are. This kind of behavior has been going on for years at this high school. Our client experienced similar locker room hijinks when he began playing football there. Context and culture matter.
Before the public convicts a high school student, people should consider the facts, not just the claims.
This is a good kid who had just turned 17 when he was led away in handcuffs, like some dangerous criminal, at the end of a school day. The people who know him best stand behind him, and so do we."
What we don't know:
The names and photos of the juvenile suspects will not be released because of their age.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the Boyd Police Department.