Mishawaka High School wrestler found guilty in sex assault

March 13, 2012|By Kelli Stopczynski (kstopczynski@wsbt.com)

A judge decided the first of six Mishawaka High School wrestlers accused of sexually assaulting a teammate is guilty.

The judge's order is two pages long. It says the prosecuting attorneys proved the allegations against the 19-year-old former Mishawaka High School wrestler beyond reasonable doubt.

The order says the 19-year-old forcibly held down the victim and sexually assaulted him in 2010. It also says the victim – who testified in the trial – is credible.

The victim told the judge he yelled "stop" two or three times while the assault was happening. He also said the teammates who were assaulting him were laughing while it happened...but he was crying.

The order also says the victim wrestled in a lighter weight class, but the 19-year-old and the other wrestlers accused of sexually assaulting him were all in heavier weight classes than the victim.

Also, we mentioned the judge found the 19-year-old "guilty," but he was tried as a juvenile since he was a minor when the incident happened. In juvenile court, he's now considered an "adjudicated delinquent" since the judge says he committed the crime...it's the same thing as being guilty in adult court.

"We are glad to see that decisions are finally coming forth and we want to see how the judicial process unfolds over the next few weeks,” said Dr. Terry Barker, School City of Mishawaka superintendent. "We will be monitoring the decisions.”

A second of the six accused wrestlers was scheduled to go to trial this Friday, but that's now been moved to a status hearing – meaning the trial will be pushed back, if it happens at all.

The Juvenile Justice Center will assign that 19-year-old a probation officer. The officer has to follow specific state laws when deciding what the JJC will recommend as far as what happens to him next.

The JJC director told WSBT they believe in rehabilitation rather than punishment.

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