In the end, we concluded that the community has an absolute right to know the identities of the three young men who have confessed to causing so much physical and emotional damage to three of their teammates. In systematically violating those three boys with a broomstick, pine cones and golf balls, the perpetrators -- Phil Sofia, Ken Carney and Thomas Diasparra -- did far more than physical and mental harm to their victims.
They brought unspeakable dishonor -- and very likely, enormous financial damage -- to their families, their coaches, their teammates, their school and their community.
At the time of the attacks, all three assailants had reached an age of reason. (The youngest, Diasparra, was 15; the oldest, Sofia, 17.) They had the ability to understand that such a heinous crime was morally -- and legally -- wrong. Yet they went ahead with it anyway. Now they must face the consequences.
The law in Pennsylvania, where the crimes were carried out, won't allow the three to be tried as adults. Instead, they pleaded guilty in juvenile court. They could receive probation, or they could be sentenced to juvenile detention until the age of 21.
We will not comment on any of the court's decisions. We will only say that it is meting out justice as prescribed by the law, which does not allow it to reveal the names of juvenile assailants.
Newspapers, however, are under no such obligation. We have chosen to publish the names and faces of the assailants. We believe it is a natural consequence -- and yes, a very adult consequence -- of the crimes they have chosen to commit. We routinely publish the names of teenagers charged with far less serious crimes. Why then would we withhold the names of the three assailants in this case? If the extreme nature of their premeditated violence and rage doesn't warrant identification, what does?
Moreover, in naming names, we believe that a pall of guilt will be removed from the other 57 members of the Mepham football team. Many in the community already knew who the perpetrators were; many others, however, did not. Lots of people wondered who among the players was guilty. Now, the innocent team members -- who may have known of the attacks, but did not carry them out -- can return to their lives without being followed by the ugly shadow of suspicion.
Will our decision cause embarrassment and shame for the boys and their families? No. It was their own decision to commit these crimes that is the source of their shame, not our decision to inform the community of who they are and what they did.
We also note that, in New York state, at least one of the assailants, Sofia, who is 17, would likely have been automatically charged as an adult from the very beginning. In that instance, police would have distributed his name and mug shot to newspapers and TV stations, and all would have known who he was from the outset.
Just this week, in Westchester County, a 29-year-old counselor and 16-year-old resident of a home for troubled boys were arrested and charged with sexually abusing a 14-year-old resident with a broomstick. New York authorities automatically named the 16-year-old alleged assailant, and news outlets, including The New York Times, published both alleged assailants' names.
Yes, there are consequences for committing a crime, particularly a serious crime. Having your name and face appear in the newspaper is one of them.
