Four Lisbon High School students charged following wrestling team hazing incidents

UPDATE: Charges filed Thursday against four Lisbon High School wrestlers mark the first time student-athletes have been prosecuted in the county for allegations involving bullying-type behavior against a teammate.

Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden said this has been the only incident reported to law enforcement which crossed the boundary of bullying to physical contact and warranted criminal charges.

Two of the wrestlers, Nathan Taylor Jubeck and Dakota Christian VanDyke, both 18, were charged with simple assault, a misdemeanor. They are accused of holding down a 15-year-old teammate and urinating on him in the locker room shower, according to a criminal complaint.

Delinquency charges of assault and third-degree harassment were filed against the other two, Hunter Hutchison and Austin Edwards, both 17, in juvenile court. They are accused of holding down the boy and placing their exposed genitalia on his face in the wrestling room.

Vander Sanden explained the assault charges were appropriate because the “offensive physical contact was meant to embarrass or humiliate.” One of the incidents involved genitalia touching the alleged victim's face but it's not considered sexual abuse because there wasn't any proof the acts were done for sexual purpose or sexual gratification, Vander Sanden said.

Vander Sanden said the alleged actions of the wrestlers went beyond bullying as defined in Iowa code, which isn't a crime.

According to Iowa Code 280.28, a statewide policy against harassment and bullying was adopted in 2007 and every school district had to adopt their own anti-bullying policy that meets the statewide standard.

“Harassment and bullying shall be construed to mean any electronic, written, verbal, or physical act or conduct toward a student which is based on any actual or perceived trait or characteristic of the student and which creates an objectively hostile school environment that meets one or more of the following conditions:

- Places the student in reasonable fear of harm to the student's person or property.

- Has a substantially detrimental effect on the student's physical or mental health.

- Has the effect of substantially interfering with a student's academic performance.

- Has the effect of substantially interfering with the student's ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school.

Vander Sanden said he proposed a bill to the Iowa County Attorney's Association to create a new crime of sexual assault which would cover incidents similar to this or ones involving groping of another person in a “sexual sensitive area” of the body. There is a loophole now for those kinds of offenses and this could be a serious misdemeanor, which would be more jail time.

Vander Sanden hasn't yet pursued a legislator to propose the bill.

Vander Sanden said the wrestlers' allegations came to light in December when the 15-year-old team member reported the incidents to school officials and the Lisbon Police Department, but the investigation took some time to complete. The incidents occurred before the coaches arrived and practice began.

Vander Sanden said the 15-year-old didn't immediately report the assault until some of the members threatened to continue such acts against him.

Vander Sanden also asked the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation to get involved and assist the Lisbon Police after officers identified at least three other victims on the team when questioned reported being subjected to the same type of physical contact. The families of these three other alleged victims requested that criminal charges not be filed on their behalf, so investigators couldn't pursue more charges.

During the investigation, the wrestling coaches were interviewed and denied knowledge of the incidents. Investigators never received information from any source suggesting the coaching staff was aware of the alleged assault, Vander Sanden said.

DCI also interviewed the families of the students who didn't want to pursue charges to confirm their decisions, he said. Wrestlers who were accused of committing the acts were questioned and investigators also subpoenaed the written records of the investigation conducted by the Lisbon School District, which took additional time.

The school district hasn't released the results of its investigation. Superintendent Brad Laures released a statement after wrestling practiced was canceled in December saying they started an investigation into a “student behavior issue.” There was no information released on how many students were disciplined. There were some reports that some of the wrestlers didn't participate in practices after the investigation began.

Laures was asked Thursday if any further action would come from the district, now that charges have been filed.

“We concluded our investigation of this situation nearly two months ago and issued severe consequences allowable according to school board policy,” Laures said in a statement. “We have cooperated fully with the Linn County Attorney. We have offered counseling and other support to all who were involved in this situation and we continue to work toward excellence in academics and citizenship.”

Other high school wrestling team members in Sioux City and Greenfield also have been recently charged with simple assault stemming from hazing incidents. Students from Nodaway Valley High in Greenfield face more serious charges of felonious assault involving a reported sexual abuse of a teammate.