By Hector Flores
The victims were allegedly sodomized with a broomstick, pine cones and golf balls.
Kelly spoke before Judge Donald Belfi at a Nassau County Court hearing in Mineola, during which 12 people involved in the case -- including Mepham High School principal John Didden, football coaches Kevin McElroy, Erwin Wolofsky, Art Canestro and Brian Scott, parents and players -- were asked to appear. All parties agreed to also appear before a Pennsylvania grand jury that is investigating the case.
Only school officials were present last Friday. Players and parents spoke through their attorneys, so as not to identify any of the students, who are all minors. Pennsylvania law prohibits minors' names from being revealed during criminal proceedings.
Kelly emphasized the need for witnesses to tell what they know. Outside the courtroom, he told the Herald, "We want to make clear that the witnesses were not involved in the attacks in any way. I don't know if all the kids who witnessed this knew what was going to happen, but their testimony could prove useful in the case."
Kelly continued, "Not that many people have come forward. It's as if people just want this matter to go away and go back to their normal lives, but it will not go away until those who witnessed the incidents come forward."
He also said that his clients have cooperated with the Wayne County (Pa.) District Attorney's Office and Pennsylvania state police and are prepared to testify before the grand jury.
Kelly declined to speak about the attacks themselves, but said they happened on more than one day and were not necessarily committed at night.
David Woycik, an attorney representing the third victim in the alleged attacks, said the three sodomized teenagers are traumatized and have received some threats, but he would not offer further details
"Our clients are going through a rough time right now," Woycik said. "They are experiencing guilt because of the cancellation of the football [season] and embarrassment for what has happened to them. Again, we implore all parents whose teenagers witnessed the incidents to come forward and do the right thing."
Thus far, the Mepham football team has remained largely silent about the alleged attacks.
Last week, Bellmore-Merrick officials said they had written statements from some witnesses; under federal law, however, they could not reveal the contents of those statements publicly. Wayne County District Attorney Mark Zimmer, who is investigating the case, issued subpoenas to the district last week to secure the statements, along with testimony from involved parties.
The Sept. 26 hearing at Nassau County Court was supposed to be pro forma, a necessary legal step to bring witnesses from New York before the Pennsylvania grand jury, which has no jurisdiction here.
In an unusual move, however, Judge Belfi used the hearing as a platform to issue an appeal to all high schools across Long Island, calling on students to report hazing allegations.
"Authorities are willing to accept any complaints..." Belfi said.
The judge declined interviews on Friday, but through his principal law clerk, Cara Patton, he said the brutality of the alleged Mepham attacks moved him to speak, according to a published report.
The hearing also stopped momentarily when Charles Koller, parent of a Mepham freshman football player, spoke out, calling on principal Didden to resign. Koller later said that Didden failed to provide proper supervision for the Mepham players at the Pennsylvania camp.
"This whole incident would not have happened if these kids had been properly watched over," said Koller. "Instead, the players were allowed to be alone for eight hours at a time, and that was a big mistake."
Didden and coach McElroy were reportedly warned before the camp that a student, who has been identified as an alleged attacker, was threatening another student or students.
Last week there were scattered radio reports, mainly from talk shows, that the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District planned to fight its subpoenas at the Friday hearing. District spokeswoman Kate Collins, however, said the district planned only to comply with the subpoenas, and at the hearing, no district official rejected them.
District Attorney Zimmer said in a prepared statement on Monday that witnesses had begun to break the silence. "I have been contacted by witnesses and lawyers for witnesses who have now expressed their desire to cooperate," he said. "Hopefully, more people will now come forward with information. Pennsylvania state police investigators, in conjunction with the Nassau County police, have gathered a great deal of information, and we have been assured that more is coming."
