Utah High School Football Players and Hazing

Two Utah high school football players have been suspended from school following allegations of hazing. It’s possible that at least one other hazing incident occurred at the same school as well, but different kids may have been involved.

Why Hazing is Illegal

Hazing is against the law in Utah. Hazing may be simply defined as the process of requiring someone to do strenuous, often humiliating tasks in order to become part of a group. Utah law states that hazing is can include:

• Endangering the mental or physical health or safety of someone else
• Involving brutality such as whipping, beating, branding, calisthenics, bruising, exposure to the elements, etc.
• Requiring someone to eat any food or substance that could harm the individual
• Subjecting a person to activities that cause mental stress, extreme embarrassment, shame or humiliation

Additionally, a defendant in a hazing case cannot use the defense that a person (under 21) consented to participating in the hazing activity.

In adult court, a person charged with hazing can face anywhere from a class B misdemeanor to a second degree felony depending on the circumstances of the incident. Kids are normally adjudicated in juvenile court, but the consequences can be severe even in that court setting.

Kids Deserve Expert Legal Help

Some kids are going to make mistakes—the kind that land them in legal trouble. If your teen has been charged with any offense, talk to a Utah juvenile defense attorney as soon as possible.

Errors in judgment don’t mean that a kid deserves to have the book thrown at him. Let an attorney help your child get the best possible outcome in his juvenile case. Call an experienced Utah juvenile defense attorney today.