Another hazing incident involving prep wrestling surfaces

More controversy involving hazing allegations has surrounded an Iowa prep wrestling program. The Associated Press is reporting that four members of the Sioux City North High School wrestling team face simple assault charges, which is a misdemeanor.

Four wrestlers are accused of assaulting a teammate, and according to police, the incident involved humiliation techniques on the bare skin of sensitive body parts.

Alison Benson, a spokesperson for the Sioux City School District, said students were disciplined according to school policy, and wrestling coach John Torno was on administrative leave during the investigation. Torno will return to the classroom where he teaches physical education.

Sioux City North is the third program over the last month to face similar controversy. Two Nodaway Valley wrestlers were arrested and charged with sexual abuse recently.

The Lisbon wrestling program faced a "student behavior issue" in December, but Superintendent Brad Laures denied it was a hazing incident. No charges have been filed in that case, but some wrestlers were suspended from the team. Those wrestlers were not identified due to school policy.

Below is the entire AP article on the allegations involving Sioux City North:

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) Officials say four members of the wrestling team at North High School in Sioux City face misdemeanor charges of simple assault in an alleged hazing incident involving another team member.

According to the Sioux City Journal, police say the students assaulted another boy on Dec. 19 at the school. It was reported to police on Jan. 3.

School district spokeswoman Alison Benson says the students were disciplined in accordance with school policy. She says coach John Torno, who was on administrative leave during the investigation, would return to the classroom.

This is the third reported investigation into alleged inappropriate conduct involving members of an Iowa high school wrestling team in recent weeks.