Criminal Act Possible in Team Hazing

As Ventura County sheriff’s detectives continued their investigation into hazing by the Westlake High School wrestling team, a school administrator said Friday the conduct could “very possibly” involve criminal behavior.

Detectives from the department’s major crimes unit visited the campus for a second day to conduct interviews with administrators and students about the incidents that prompted the school to cancel the wrestling team’s season earlier this week.

School administrators are conducting their own investigation, which could lead to disciplinary action such as suspension or expulsion.

“I would say that hazing covers a wide range of behavior, everything from spraying shaving cream on a kid to committing a crime,” said Rich Simpson, assistant superintendent of the Conejo Valley Unified School District. “I think the issue we’re talking about very possibly, if not probably, involves criminal behavior.”

While school officials and sheriff’s investigators have refused to detail the exact nature of the misconduct, many students and parents described it as a simulated sexual act--involving a broomstick--made on several novice wrestlers. Sheriff’s officials, however, remained tight-lipped Friday, confirming only that they were conducting an investigation at the school.

“We are investigating possible assaults committed by members of the school’s wrestling team, but it’s still too early to say exactly what happened,” said Sgt. Rod Mendoza of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

As of late Friday, no charges had been filed against any students, but investigators will continue to work through the weekend.

School administrators canceled the remainder of the Warrior wrestling team’s season Tuesday, citing pervasive and repeated instances of misconduct perpetrated by a majority of the team’s 27 members.

Westlake High’s Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Joseph Pawlick, who learned of the incidents late last week, has launched an internal investigation to determine whether further disciplinary action is warranted.

If necessary, Principal Curt Luft will mete out the punishment, which could include the expulsion and suspension of several students, sources said.

Some parents, however, say the students’ conduct bears more resemblance to horseplay than criminal activity.

They worry that a protracted investigation by school officials unfairly stigmatizes their children, some of whom weren’t involved.

“We want an investigation--not a witch hunt,” said Bill Hutton, who added that his wrestler son, Doug, has already been cleared because he was off-campus when the incident occurred.

Two dozen parents of wrestlers have complained that school administrators are leaving them in the dark. They demanded in a letter prepared Thursday that the wrestling program be reinstated.

“I want to know what happened,” Karen Nelson said at a parents’ meeting Thursday night. “I want the guilty punished. I want the innocent exonerated.”

The school responded by sending letters to each wrestler’s family, inviting parents to schedule one-on-one, private conferences about their child’s involvement or lack thereof, Simpson said Friday.

More than one parent said school administrators were too concerned with “political correctness” and that the hazing amounted to little more than “horseplay.”

“I certainly wouldn’t call it that,” Simpson responded. “Neither would any of the [school] board members, administrators or parents I’ve talked to.”

The incident has fueled rumors in the corridors of the school known for its high academic standards, ambitious students and stellar SAT scores.

“It’s gotten completely out of hand,” said a 15-year-old sophomore as he lounged in the sun after school Friday. “It doesn’t seem like that big a deal. . . . It was a joke.”

Another student, a 16-year-old girl who asked not to be identified, offered a much different take.

“It’s pretty weird,” she said. “The whole thing sounds pretty mean. . . . If it did happen, then I think those guys should get what they deserve.”