Conestoga High School hazing incident settled on lesser charges

TREDYFFRIN TWP., Pa. (WPVI) -- The hazing incident at Conestoga High School has been settled in juvenile court on lesser charges.

The incident happened in October 2015, and charges against three football players were announced in March, 2016 by District Attorney Tom Hogan.

On Tuesday, a joint statement released by the D.A. and the attorneys representing the players said the three juveniles admitted to a criminal summary offense of harassment stemming from the treatment of a younger player.

According to the statement, investigators determined that the younger player was assigned clean up duty with the other three boys and was pushed, briefly held down and poked in the leg with a broomstick when he refused to participate.

The three had originally been charged with assault and the original accusations stated the younger player had been violated with the broomstick.

In Tuesday's statement, it was said that the victim was not physically injured.

The statement goes on to say that the victim reported the incident to his father months after it happened after he himself was charged with an unspecified juvenile offense.

"The victim, the charged juveniles, and their respective families all would like the opportunity to move on with their lives," the statement concludes. "We all hope never to see an incident like this in Chester County again."

The head football coach at the time, John Vogan, was suspended and eventually resigned in the wake of the allegations. The entire varsity and junior varsity football staff was also relieved of duties through the fall football season.