Wheaton College Football Players Charged With Felonies For Assaulting Freshman

Victim alleges he was stripped and sodomized; says hazing incident has had a “devastating effect.”

Arrest warrants have been issued for five Wheaton College football players who have been accused of restraining a freshman teammate with duct tape, beating him, sodomizing him, and then leaving him half-naked with severe injuries on a baseball field, the Chicago Tribune reports.

James Cooksey, Kyler Kregel, Benjamin Pettway, Noah Spielman and Samuel TeBos all face felony charges for the assault, which reportedly took place at the conservative Christian school in 2016. All are currently listed on the team roster as of Tuesday afternoon, and three played over the weekend in a game against Carthage College on Saturday.

“This has had a devastating effect on my life,” the victim said in a statement to the Tribune, which is not publishing his name. During the assault, the victim said the football players made repeated derogatory statements about Muslims. “What was done to me should never occur in connection with a football program or any other activity. … I am confident that the criminal prosecution will provide a fair and just punishment to the men who attacked me.”

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