Small Town Coverup?


Publisher's edit, 6:00 p.m., 11/29/06. It has come to my attention that the charges filed against the student came from the hazing incidents reported by the younger students. While I apologize for the error and have made some minor changes to the article, it in no way changes the the overall complaints that were forwarded to me by some residents of this small South Dakota town.

Generally speaking, whenever I compose one of my patented tirades I keep nothing under wraps. I just speak my mind and take the fallout in the form of emails and phone calls.

Today, however, I’m going to be very careful in how I present my story. Part of this is due to the ages of the people involved, but it’s mainly because of the explosive nature of allegations that, according to some parents, are being swept under the rug. Because of these reasons, I’m not only withholding the names of anybody involved in the story but I’m also refraining from naming the town where these incidents were alleged to have occurred.
The story first became known this past summer when a state champion high school wrestler was arrested for almost two dozen sexual assaults against at least six of his classmates. Yet according to some residents of the small town located less than a half hour from Sioux Falls, the story doesn’t end there. A few weeks ago, a letter from one of the classmates' parents was sent to at least one local media outlet. This letter alleges that “at least three other varsity wrestlers are involved in tormenting, harassing and hazing the younger members of the wrestling team. These varsity wrestlers actually held down the six young victims while the rapes occurred.”
Besides the sexual assaults, these silly jocks also supposedly committed offensive acts to these six young men. They “harassed and hazed the younger wrestlers over a long period of time. (They) urinated in the younger boys’ Gatorade, defecated in their rooms at wrestling camp, along with a lot of other disgusting activities”. These activities were kept quiet by the younger wrestlers for quite some time until the wrestling camp incidents that resulted in some of these students confiding in their parents. The school’s superintendent reportedly told the parents that it’s “not the school’s problem”.
Supposedly, the official reason these other athletes were not charged with their roles in the alleged sexual assaults was because they agreed to testify. But according to this letter, a member of the faculty actually told one of the victim’s fathers that “the school is not going to take any action until after the football season, because if these three boys are kicked off the football team, (the school) wouldn’t have a change at winning a football game”. (The school in question ultimately won quite a few football games, and recently was a victor in the state championship game.)
But was there more to the decision to not charge these additional students? The letter alleges that family connections may have had a hand in helping these kids out. “One of them is the son of a school board member”, says the writer. “One of them is the son of the assistant football coach. One of them is the nephew of a school board member”. (No word on if the school board member named twice is the same person.) Interestingly, one of the harassers is also supposedly related to a Sioux Falls news anchor.
In some respects, it’s shocking to me that this story isn’t making the front page of the local paper (besides the indictment of the one athlete), or has yet to make any appearance on the local television news. At the same time, though, I’m not shocked at all. This year we’ve seen plenty of similar stories swept under the rug. Allegations against Bob Sahr were enough to cause him to not seek re-election, but we hear nothing but unsubstantiated whispers of sexual harassment and a motel room. Political opponents of Dan Sutton used similar allegations to unsuccessfully attempt to force him to pull out of an election just two weeks before people cast their ballots.
Those two cases are not as troublesome as the story of this small town and their decision to chase sports titles rather than punish the deplorable actions of a handful of wannabe big fish in an extremely small pond. I like sports as much as the next person, but is a banner that hangs in the gym worth the innocence of at least six young boys? I think not.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Good old fashioned SD hypocrisy, this town seeps of it.

Would it surprise anyone that this is the same town Mrs. Bruckelman came from? Remember her, she was the clown-faced Barbie doll that protested comprehensive sex-ed to students in Sioux Falls.

Yummy, the taste of hypocrisy.

Detroit
Anonymous said…
It wasn't women that were affected by this scandal- the young man in question actually harassed other wrestlers- young men. Don't know where the 6 young women come into play... On a completely seperate note- Scotty- have you watched KELO news lately and seen Jay Trobek's face/ Has he had some kind of Botox lately or what- pretty scary...
Anonymous said…
Scotty, get your facts straight. There were no women ever involved, and as if parker knew they would win a football championship, this all happended last spring and it came out in august. you dont know what you are talking about
Anonymous said…
You have this so botched I wont even start to correct you. All I have to say you better get your facts straight before you go making accusations.....
Anonymous said…
Who is Mrs. Bruckelman?????
Some of the facts are correct!!!!!
Anonymous said…
She was the mom that was mad that kids weren't getting taught Abstinence in school, and complained and got the sex ed pulled. Her husband was one of the founders of BKG. Lots of dough.

Detroit
Anonymous said…
Yeah, I heard it was just a bunch of butt-pounding.
Scott said…
In talking with various sources, I have discovered that I indeed made a mistake. I was led to believe that the actions that caused the arrest (and non-arrests) were separate from the hazing incidents. I have made minor changes, and added an intro that apolgized for said mistake.

Yet I stand by the rest of the piece. The charges that I printed came from a letter that a parent forwarded to some Sioux Falls media outlets. Yet at least one commenter somehow finds it impossible that the school in question would be looking at the fall football season when asked about the school's response this past spring. Really? I also find it sort of humorous (and scary) that a finger (or two) inserted into an unwilling boy's anus is just "boys being boys". Yet we certainly can't allow gay marriage.
Anonymous said…
The simple fact that you printed the original blog without even checking the facts shows that you and your editor are careless and leads to me believe that your article is suspect. The fact that all of this is still being investigated and will be adjudicated in the court system soon should be enough to quell your rumors. the fact that you got this information from a person who has heard everything second hand and was neither a witness nor privy to all the information the the investigators or prosecutors have found in this case is yet another reason that leads me to believe that you do not know what you a talking about. I find it difficult to believe that you are so irrresponsible to write a story like this without checking any facts, I guess thats why you write for a radio stationa dn not for any respectable print media. Your allegations of a school officials impropriety is obsured expecially since all allegations were made public before school even started and before the first football game was even played. Scott, you need to get "your Defication in Coagulation" write about something you know the facts about and let this incident be played out in court, where is shoudl be.
Anonymous said…
Most of the people in the nameless small town, have no problem with this being "played out in the court system". Our concern is why just one person was charged with a crime.
Maybe you could have better luck finding out than the young man's friends and family. Most of us support him.......
Anonymous said…
where did you come up with yor offical reason for these so-called other athletes not being charged? evidently from the same lieing, supposed knowing parent source. I surely hope nobody is ignorant enough to believe the superintendant would tell anyone that its not the schools problem and that they would not act til after football season. And if this came from that same parent should tell everyone about that parent and their childs credibility
Anonymous said…
What a joke. It is bad enough that this is even being talked about, but to just go off on members of the school board and school in this nameless town is obsurd. If ONE school board member has that much pull, then I think he should think about running for governor or president. I am proud to be living in this nameless school system and raising my kids here and don't believe that ONE person runs the school board or dictates its actions, maybe I'm wrong. I have only heard things second hand, but I don't think I have the authority to write to media places and try and bring up certain things. Does this parent really think they are helping matters? Is that parent going to get others convicted by going to media? Maybe the parent should let the law take over and do its thing instead of worrying about who is related to who, who did what and so forth. It is a bad situation in a great community and it is a shame things like this happen. All we(the public) can do is await the outcome and pray that justice will be served. I support all the kids(and that is what they all are no matter how they are being charged) in this and hope our community can get through this! We have a great town and school system here, and I am very proud to be a part of it!!
Anonymous said…
Grammar lesson for the day. You should only have 3-5 sentences in a paragraph. Please, please Anons 6:39 PM and 9:03 AM hit the return key once or twice.

The Parker English Department
Anonymous said…
Here we go, you can only blog so often until some dumb a** starts going off on stupid stuff. I guess there goes the nameless small town. Must have offended someone to start worrying about paragraphs. Give me a break.
Anonymous said…
Makes you wonder how 'good' the school is after reading some of these posts. The heck with the kids, charges need to be brought against the English teachers.

On a different note. I'm no lawyer OR judge, but lets look at what we know so far.

- The alledged rapist has plead not guilty

- His lawyer wants it to go to juvenile courts. If he is found guilty he will only serve 3 years.

If he is 'not guilty' as he has pleaded, why should he be so afraid of being tried as an adult?

I am assuming that when 6 of your peers (or even friends) accuse you of sodomizing them, the cards are stacked kind of tall against you. That being said, I have faith in the justice system, and I believe the alleged should have his day in court.

If there is physical evidence against him, he is in alot trouble. Take 6 x 25 - it's not even close to 3 years.

I have a feeling 'something' has happened here and though these may not be 'fun' things to talk about, they need to be talked about. Too often rape victims don't come forward, especially if a boy has been raped by another boy/man.

We have a real problem with talking about sex in our communities, and it is sad. Who's to blame? Everyone really.

Though Hudson can be a fucking hermit most of the time, I will commend him for bringing this up in a forum. Heck, maybe some of his facts are wrong, but some of them ARE dead on and it is the 'discussion' that is important.

This CANNOT be swept under the rug.

Detroit Lewis
Anonymous said…
Good post. My question in all this after reading the whole thing and these other posts, is why weren't the other kids arrested or whatever. If there were 3 others, why didn't those 6 "victims" name everybody since they are all juveniles anyway. If they, and thankful that they did, decide to come out about this and charge soembody with something, why didn't they accuse all of them. I don't think the school board or superintendent had the choice who was to be picked. If they have charges on them all I think they should have gotten them all instead of just one.
Anonymous said…
I wonder if they weren't charged with anything because there is nothing to be charged with , ever think of that !!
Detroit , there are many more things to be considered then guilty/not guilty when considering whether or not this should be in juvenile or adult court, thats probably better off left to the judge after he has heard the actual evidence and not some blogs rants and raves
Anonymous said…
In my HS kids were banned from athletic activities for much less infractions than raping their team-mates. The alleged victims need to be removed from their alleged rapists until it is settled "in court." This is up to the people who run the school and are in charge of providing a rape-free environment.
Anonymous said…
In SD legal age of consent for sex is 17. Since he is accused of a 'sexual' crime he should be charged as an adult.

If he used his age and upper classman status to manipulate young boys it only makes sense.

I don't need a law degree to figure this one out.

Detroit Lewis
Anonymous said…
If you are wondering why only one got charged you would need to ask the incompetant states attorney that covers that county, maybe they can explain it for ya.

As far as the school not taking action, I don't think that this is a school matter. Thus, that's why it is in the courts now.
Anonymous said…
Um, it is a school matter.

1) These kids knew each other from school (classes)

2) They were on the same wrestling team together (from the same school)

3) Some of the actions allededly happened on school grounds

The school dropped the fucking ball, whether it was criminal or not, they should have been investigating a LONG time ago.

Detroit Lewis
Anonymous said…
Stupid Parents?!?!

The court system is doing what it legally can. It also charged the only person it could, because they could not come up with anything to charge the others for. If a parent of one of the alleged victims is reading this, I want them to know how childish they are.
To me this sounds like a parent trying to take away something special from a deserving town. They are bringing more negative attention to this small town, and taking away the enjoyment of all the football players and residents of the town. The parents of the victims are just pissed off, because their kids were not a part of the football team and the team won state for the first time ever.

If the parents have an issue with who is being charged and who is not being charged they should be bitching about it to the courts, not bring down their own town.

I, however, have a better source than Scotty (who does not know what he is talking about and needs to rethink his career) and know that one of the victims acts all powerful in school. He tries to get other students in trouble because of what they "supposedly" say about his so-called incident.

I can not believe how low these parents are. They take everything away from the football team, and the town. I really hope these kinds of people would leave that little town. I would imagine the town would not want people bringing negative attention to a matter that is already being dealt with. Nothing more can be done.

A question to the parents: why are you allowing your kids/victims to go to school with students that hate them? I mean the kid that is being charged with rape has friends, and those friends hate these so called victims. Maybe the parents should smarten up and realize that their kids are not going to be liked by the other students. These parents are worried about their kid’s protection, yet they allow them to go to school with kids that hate them. Some parents?

Stupid Parents?!?!
Anonymous said…
First of all! Stupid Parents?!? Isnt this town suppose to be a safe town! WELL... Not any more! What was a safe town and supposedly a safe school, has a rep now! You can not blame this on the parents! If it werent for the parents taking action, this SHIT would still be going on! Stupid parents, i think not! What would you do if it were your child who was the victim? Second of all, these victims, it took guts to tell what happened! I dont know that i would be able to come forward and tell my story to my OWN PARENTS! Plus, now everyone knows what happened and who it happened to. Do you not think that they are getting teased about it! Sure they are! They are not going to tell you.... would you? You people that do not have kids that are the victims should not talk and have NO REASON TO TALK EITHER! You do not know how they feel! BUTT OUT! YOu do not know the whole story, you do not know the kids, you do not know the situation! BUTT OUT
Anonymous said…
scott you are an idiot
Anonymous said…
what a retard you dont know anything
Anonymous said…
I like your word usage. "BUTT OUT" Fits perfectly! If I was one of the parents, I would not allow my kid to be going to that school.

I don't even know why a parent would bring attention to this anyways. The matter is being dealt with as quick as possible. Like I said before, it sounds like a bunch of parents pissed about the football teams success. The towns attention has to be on their poor little boy.

I am not saying this did happen, or it didn't happen. Thats up to the courts to figure out, thank god. What I am saying is let it be. Why do we have to keep bringing it up? Let the town and school move on, and try to find some positive ground.
Anonymous said…
Who's the ass-clown clem this time?

Look in the mirror for the answer Scott.
Anonymous said…
so some relative of don jorgenson's likes to get it up the behind? send him out to rapid and let andy harvey have his way with him.
Anonymous said…
Scott you are a idiot you should not give that much info about the other three varsity guys. i dont care who you are.
Anonymous said…
Can any one tell me why this was even brought up again? I thought this was old news, that is being dealt with?
Anonymous said…
Yes, lets not talk about it. Maybe it will just go away. SD loves the old adage, "What you don't know can't hurt you." Yeah, that has worked really well with teen preganancy and Meth addiction in our state. The fact is, the more you talk about something, the better we understand the issue and in the future we can deal with the circumstances better. I find it hard to believe that these kids made up that they were sodomized. This needs to be talked about whether the kid in question is guilty or not. Pretending nothing is going on is ridiculous.
Anonymous said…
I just do not understand why we are talking about something that is being dealt with. I can understand if nothing is being done, but right now its going through the courts as fast as possible. So I'm just wondering what we are suppose to talk about. Yeah this a bad deal, but its being dealt with.

I am not saying we should not talk about it, I am just wondering what more there is to talk about??
Anonymous said…
Mr. Hudson, In the past I have repected and counted your comments on issues, enlightening and informative. Notice that the aforesaid confession is emphatically presented in the "past tense". After reading your "rant" on my home-town, I am appalled that you would go to such lengths to demoralize and community without getting the facts from a better source. I am not implying that some are true or not, yet as a commentator and journalist, are you not required by ethics to have a solid informant? You did not even know who your informant was, and if you really think that "a victim's parent" would jepordize their case by leaking information to the media, you are more foolish and obtuse than I originally thought. I, as a writer have lost all respect for you as a commentator and a person. You have attacked my home-town and I can safely say you have never set foot here and probably never will. I compare you to the "rag-journalist" of papers that we read the titles of to pass the time in the spermarket line. This small community is NOT ignoreing this situation, to be sure, it is tearing this one very tight community assunder. Those of us not involved have to sit by in horror, pitying all parties involved, as a parent I cannot comprehend the pain, on both sides. And this horror comes from the fact that our town is being split right down the middle and you mock us, Mr. Hudson. Naming relatives is also an extremely unethical and immature blow. You have reached a low in you ranting, Mr. Hudson, and I, for one, will no longer listen to you as you enjoy placing blame where you have no right!!
Anonymous said…
I had some problems with my computer and had to repost.
Mr. Hudson, in the past I have respected and counted your comments on issues, enlightening and informative. Notice that the aforesaid confession is emphatically presented in the "past tense". After reading your "rant" on my home-town, I am appalled that you would go to such lengths to demoralize a community without getting the facts from a better source. I am not implying that some are true or not, yet as a commentator and journalist, are you not required by ethics to have a solid informant? You did not even know who your informant was, and if you honestly think that "a victim's parent" would jeopardize their case by leaking information to the media, you are more foolish and obtuse than I originally thought. I, as a writer have lost all respect for you as a commentator and a person. You have attacked my home-town and I can safely say you have never set foot here and probably never will. I compare you to the "rag-journalist" of papers that we read the titles of to pass the time in the supermarket line. This small community is NOT ignoring this situation; to be sure, it is tearing this one very tight community asunder. Those of us not involved have to sit by in horror, pitying all parties involved, as a parent I cannot comprehend the pain, on both sides. And this horror comes from the fact that our town is being split right down the middle and you mock us, Mr. Hudson. Naming relatives is also an extremely unethical and immature blow. You have reached a low in you ranting, Mr. Hudson, and I, for one, will no longer listen to you as you enjoy placing blame where you have no right!!
Anonymous said…
^^ Could you say that just ONE more time?

I wonder if this buttinsky of the month is related to Roger Hunt?
Anonymous said…
Does anyone ever stop and think about what it is that you may be sentencing this young man to. I have a hard time believing that this is a rape case. On the same hand it is unfortunate that this type of crap happens. However, it is not something new and has been going on for many years. The thing is young kids make very poor decisions and as long as there are kids in this world it will continue to be that way. As adults we make poor desisions, but expect our kids to never made a mistake.

My heart goes out to both the victims and accused. As a parent I know my kids are going to make poor decisions in there life and can only hope that it does not destroy the rest of there life. In this case, we have already destroyed this young mans life and nothing will change that.

I will finsih by saying this. As parents, put yoursefl in this situation. It is your child that is being accused of these charges. Do you still feel the same way? Is it possible that this is nothing more than hazing, and not rape? I think that some sort of punishment is required, but to convict and sentance a young man for what I believe is nothing more than bad dicision making is not the answer. For those readers that have smart ass comments. I am not a relative or am I a part of this community. I am nothing more than reader of the Rant a Bit column.
Anonymous said…
i always knew wrestling was gay, and now this kid's defense is that it was some wrestling move he was performing? so wrestling really is for homos. and to the last poster that says this was just hazing? well, pull down your pants and let this kid come haze you.
Anonymous said…
I'm sorry, but I wrestled for 7 years in school, not once did I ever do a move that required me to stick my finger up another wrestlers butt, and NONE of my coaches taught a move like that. Yes there is certain moves that require you to grab a butt cheek or the inner thigh, but that is about as far it goes. If someone on our team was pulling that shit, he wouldn't have made it too trial, because we would have beat him into submission.

As for the rape charge, I know some people think that is extreme, but due to our backwards 18th century laws in SD, any act of sodomy unsolicited is an act of rape according to SD law.

Yes, he should be punished, I have a few ideas. But I think the best would be for him to spend about 4 years on the hill where he can be on the receiving end of his 'Wrestling Move'.
Anonymous said…
""If someone on our team was pulling that shit, he wouldn't have made it too trial, because we would have beat him into submission.""

Well there you have it. The old SD way of solving something. Either beat them, or just point fingers with no proof.

All I know is that the parker wrestling team is missing a lot of players and will not be as good as they could have...due to the under classmens trying to get attention!

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