Questions remain in hazing case

New Hampshire State Police Detective David McCormack spent two years following the hazing case involving a group of Pentucket Regional High School football players.

He thought the evidence he turned over to prosecutors in New Hampshire more than a year and a half ago would result in criminal charges against team members who allegedly assaulted younger players just before the 2001-2002 school year began. But no charges have been filed.

McCormack said he is still waiting for authorities to act on the evidence. "Not prosecuting -- it just wasn't right," he said.

McCormack's confusion was echoed by West Newbury Police Sergeant David L'Esperance, who helped McCormack assemble evidence against those on the team who may have committed assault.

"I don't know what happened, to be honest with you," L'Esperance said.

The hazing allegedly occurred at Camp Marist in Ossipee, N.H.,where the football team attended preseason training.

Matthew Weymouth, who at the time was about to begin his sophomore year, was the first to disclose the alleged hazing rituals to authorities. He contended that his older teammates assaulted younger players and harassed them physically and verbally.

Since Weymouth came forward, the Pentucket Regional School District has rewritten its policies on hazing.

Weymouth, who now lives with his family in North Attleboro, recently was a guest speaker at a Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association conference on the issue of hazing.

Weymouth's former lawyer in the case, Marsha Kazarosian, said at the time that Weymouth suffered from depression because of the hazing incident.

McCormack said last week that when he turned over his evidence, he assumed a group of Pentucket students would be charged with crimes. The evidence was first given to the Carroll County attorney's office in Ossipee, McCormack said. In August 2002, McCormack completed what he called a "felony case referral," which would have made it possible to charge several of the students with felonies.

McCormack said he thinks three of the young men should have been charged with attempted sexual assault as a felony for one of the alleged hazing rituals. He said four or five other team members should have been charged with misdemeanors for other hazing incidents.

The statute of limitations in New Hampshire for felonies is seven years. The statute of limitations for misdemeanors is a year, but McCormack said the statute could be lifted in this case because the students left the state after they allegedly committed crimes.

McCormack said that in fall 2002, he was told by County Attorney Robin Gordon that she would not be prosecuting the case. He said he asked for a written explanation but did not get a reply from Gordon's office. He said he then took his case to the state attorney general's office. McCormack said he was told twice by state prosecutors that they also would not pursue criminal charges.

Michael Bahan, chief investigator at the New Hampshire attorney general's office, said he had not heard of the case before. He said last week that the issue would have been a matter for the county attorney's office to pursue.

Gordon said she received McCormack's evidence, but that she was not sure of the outcome of the case. She referred questions to the state attorney general's office. She did not return subsequent phone calls.

Lorraine Weymouth, Matthew Weymouth's mother, said her family still plans to file a lawsuit against the Pentucket Regional School District.

Pentucket officials did not return phone calls.

Weymouth said that, like McCormack, she has asked many times about the status of charges against the former Pentucket team members and has received no official information about why no one has been held legally accountable for their alleged actions.

"It's very frustrating, but we are not about to let this go," she said.

The Weymouth family has changed attorneys. They had been represented by Kazarosian in Haverhill but say they are now represented by a Boston lawyer.

West Newbury Police Chief Jonathon Dennis said that even if no charges are filed, the Pentucket Regional School District has learned from the alleged hazing incident. Students now understand the rules and are respectful of one another, he said.

"Not to put this on the same level as Kobe Bryant," Dennis said, "but even if he [goes free], he will have still learned a valuable lesson."