Chandler police arrest 6 Hamilton High School football players in hazing case
Six Hamilton High School football players have been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, kidnapping and aggravated assault in connection with the hazing of current and former teammates, the Chandler Police Department said Wednesday.
The announcement rocked one of the most successful high-school football programs in Arizona, having won seven state championships since 2003.
Police say the crimes occurred on the Hamilton High School campus over a span of 17 months and involved “multiple male juvenile victims.” The nature of the incidents wasn’t disclosed.
Chandler police Sgt. Daniel Mejia said only one of the suspects is an adult, and police have declined to name him. Mejia told The Arizona Republic that the suspects range in age from 16 to 18 years old. All of them were at Chandler police headquarters in downtown Chandler late Wednesday afternoon, Mejia said.
All six are Hamilton High School students, but one goes to Chief Hill Learning Academy part time. Both schools are in the Chandler Unified School District.
Mejia also confirmed that some members of the school’s staff were interviewed as part of the police investigation, including football coaches, but none were considered suspects.
The district issued this statement Wednesday afternoon: “The District has been cooperating with Chandler Police relative to hazing allegations involving students. Today, police arrested six students in association with the investigation. Chandler Police are in control of this matter, and the District cannot discuss details but has been instructed to defer all questions to the Chandler Police.”
District spokesman Terry Locke, citing federal privacy laws, declined to say whether the district had imposed disciplinary action against any of the players when contacted by The Republic. He added, “Any disciplinary measure the district takes will be in accordance with district policy and procedure.”
He said the district first became aware of the situation last month.
“Specific allegations about a sexual assault were received by the district in February of this year and turned over to police,” he said.
Locke said the district was not aware of any employees being investigated and that no employee had been suspended in connection with the matter
Reached for comment on Wednesday, Chandler Hamilton coach Steve Belles said, “It is an ongoing investigation.” He would not comment further.
When pressed for more information, Mejia said police “are not releasing any details of the acts.”
“As with many complex cases, investigators believe there may be additional victims or witnesses and we are encouraging them to call Chandler police,” he said.
Harold Slemmer, executive director of the Arizona Interscholastic Association, which oversees high-school athletic programs in the state, told The Republic the association doesn’t often hear reports of hazing in highschool programs.
“The times we hear about it, schools have done a nice job dealing with it. I expect that Hamilton will do something about it,” Slemmer said. “You’ve got a world-class principal (Ken James) over there. He knows what to do. Ken James will do it.”
Hamilton has been a powerhouse football program since it began playing in 1999, a year after the school opened. It won seven state championships from 2003 to 2012 and produced countless college players. Belles has been in charge since 2006, winning five titles.
The Chandler Unified School District Governing Board was scheduled to hold its regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.