By Scott Brinton and Hector Flores
Pennsylvania law-enforcement authorities had repeatedly warned that the three Mepham High School varsity football players accused of sexually assaulting three younger teammates last August would likely be tried as juveniles. Only 1 or 2 percent of all cases involving perpetrators under age 18 go to adult court in Pennsylvania.
Still, the judge's decision to try the three as juveniles, reached last Wednesday in Honesdale, Pa., came as a shock to many -- in particular, the victims' families.
"I can't believe this is happening," said Sue, aunt of one victim, during a news conference outside the courthouse after Conway's closed-door hearing Nov. 12.
The victims, all three of whom played junior-varsity football for Mepham, were first "betrayed by the coaches," Sue said. The victims' families charge that the coaches failed to protect the boys during a sleep-away camp in Pennsylvania at which the sex attacks occurred.
On Wednesday, Sue said, the victims were "betrayed by the justice system" and "victimized again."
Ann, another of the victims' aunts, said she was astonished by Judge Conway's decision. The victims, she said, "screamed for their lives" as they were attacked. Reportedly, the three assailants played a stereo loudly to drown out their wailing.
The heinous nature of the crimes led many to believe that the alleged assailants would be tried as adults. According to officials, the trio -- ages 15, 16 and 17 at the time of the assaults -- attacked the JV players, all age 13, with a broomstick, pine cones and golf balls several times during the five-day camp.
According to Pennsylvania law, there are only two scenarios in which juveniles -- those under age 18 -- can be tried as adults: if they use a deadly weapon in the commission of a crime, or if they had a prior felony conviction. Neither condition, the judge apparently believed, applied in this case.
Conway's decision left many Bellmore-Merrick residents in stunned disbelief last week. Days earlier, the Herald had asked 10 local residents whether they believed the three alleged assailants should be tried as adults. Nine said yes.
This week, the Herald sampled eight more people, asking what they thought about Conway's decision. Two were parents of JV players who were at the football camp but who were not harmed. The other six had no involvement in the case.
Terry, the mother of a JV player, whom the Herald has interviewed before, said her greatest fear now is that the alleged assailants will be sentenced to nothing more than probation and return to Mepham High School. The alleged attackers, she said, "are just going to be back in the school next year and into the football team. This is just a slap on the wrist.
"The message that the judge gave," Terry said, "is that you can do anything you want and get away with it. There is no validation, just a victory for the perpetrators."
Victims' families and those close to the case had said they wanted the alleged assailants tried in adult court to ensure that they would not return to Mepham High School while their children were still students there. In adult court, the three could have received long prison sentences. In juvenile court, their sentences could range from probation to juvenile detention until they reach age 21. Additionally, in juvenile court, their records are sealed from the public.
Kristina Reichstein, mother of a JV player who was reportedly threatened by one of the alleged assailants but untouched during camp, said she hopes the three receive more than probation. "I hope that the judge will make it up to the [victims'] parents in the penalty phase," she said. "I think that you want an adult punishment for this crime. Ultimately, the [victims'] parents just want their kids to finish school without having to worry."
In interviews with the Herald, most local residents, though not all, described Judge Conway's decision as wrong. "They did an adult crime. They should be charged as adults," said Rick, who lives seven houses from Mepham High and did not wish to be identified further.
Dave, who was standing outside the Bellmore train station last Thursday evening, said, "They should be charged as adults, to be honest. It's a very severe thing they did."
Nick Varlott, who was having lunch at a Bellmore deli, said, "The football players who did these attacks should have been tried as a adults.
"But at the same time," said Varlott, "if they would have been tried as adults, their lives would have been ruined. But the victims' lives are already ruined by this. It's a Catch-22. No one wins either way."
Gene Venier, speaking at the same deli, said, "I would say [the alleged assailants] should be tried as juveniles. But their punishment should meet the crime. They should get the maximum penalty available in the juvenile court system. But if they get probation, that will be a terrible miscarriage of justice."
And Fred, who did not wish to give his last name, said, "I think those kids should have been tried as adults. They knew what they were doing. If this was done to my kid, I wouldn't want them walking around school when they should be expelled."
