The 11 Lacrosse players of the High School accused of binding a younger teammate in remote forests as part of a river ritual last month regret their actions, his lawyer said Thursday.
“Our clients and their families are devastated by the impact that this incident has on the Westhill community,” said Tom Cerio, of the Cerio Law offices, in a statement. “These young people deeply regret their participation in what began as a wrong attempt of a joke. They recognize that their actions were inappropriate and do not minimize the fear and anguish experienced by the other students.”
The 11 players, Westhill High School students in Syracuse, delivered to the Onoondaga County Sheriff’s office in the north of the New York state on April 30, after the agents gave them 48 hours to surrender or face kidnapping charges.
As a result, District prosecutor Bill Fitzpatrick said last week that he would receive appearance tickets for the lesser crime of less serious illegal prison. They were not arrested and will avoid criminal records.
Cerio said that these clients appreciated the focus of the matter and said that the discussions with him would continue. He added that he expected young men, who have not been identified due to their age, are not subject to “irreversible punishment” by the school district, the media and the local community.
“As with any case that involves young people, we urge a balanced approach, one that includes appropriate consequences, while providing the opportunity to make peace and grow from their mistakes,” said Cerio.
The coach of the team in Westhill, Aaron Cahill, said last week in a LinkedIn post now eliminated that he had no previous knowledge of the alleged boyfriend joke of the children. The Superintendent of the Westhill Central School District, Steve Dunham, said the Lacrosse season would be canceled in the light of the incident.
Dunham said in a statement on Thursday that the school was working in his own disciplinary process with respect to the 11 players, but that he could not legally share the details of the individual cases.
