Cheerleaders Suspended After Hazing Incident

Ogden High School cheerleaders were recently suspended from school following a hazing incident that involved several girls who are joining the cheer squad in the fall.

The cheerleaders who were suspended allegedly invited the incoming squad members to a home for a party which turned into an initiation. At some point, the newcomers were blindfolded and taken to a park where they were supposedly sworn at, called names and covered in a variety of condiments and other food items. Some reports state the possibility that urine was also thrown on the blindfolded girls.

The girls who were suspended missed their senior prom, as that day was included in their suspension from school. They were, however, allowed to return to school to take end-of-year tests. The school district’s spokesperson noted that charges could be filed against any of the cheerleaders who were 18 years old, should law enforcement make that choice.

Utah’s public school system has a policy prohibiting hazing, as well as bullying, cyber-bullying, harassment, sexual battery and sexual exposure. That policy also prohibits retaliation against a person who investigates or witnesses an incident that is prohibited. If someone is a victim of bullying, hazing, etc., he has the right to file a civil or criminal complaint.

Hazing has no positive effects on the people being hazed or the ones doing the hazing. If your child has been involved in hazing, bullying or any other crime, you should contact a Utah juvenile defense attorney immediately. Some kids just make mistakes that are simply errors in judgment, and if a court thinks otherwise, you want to have a legal expert who can plead your child’s case on his or her behalf.