Prosecutor: I don't need victim to charge De La Salle hazing suspects

Just because the De La Salle football hazing victim won't talk doesn't mean charges won't be filed, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

After agreeing to take the De La Salle hazing case, St. Clair County Prosecutor Michael Wendling sought to clear up a public misunderstanding: He can charge the suspects, he said, even if the victim doesn't want that to happen.

That's been the case thus far in the Warren De La Salle hazing scandal, which abruptly ended the football season last month after allegations surfaced that teammates held a player facedown on the locker room floor while another sexually taunted and prodded him with a broomstick. There was no penetration.

According to police, the victim has refused to talk, and, doesn't want charges brought. 

Wendling said that doesn't matter.

"That is not a determining factor for our office going forward," Wendling told the Free Press on Wednesday. "If there’s a crime and we can prove it, and we feel that charges are justified, we will go forward."

Wendling, who plans to announce a charging decision next week, said it's not uncommon for prosecutors to try cases without a victim's testimony.

"We do it all the time," Wendling said. "There are a lot of crimes where victims are apprehensive about testifying ... if it’s viable and we can go forward without a victim, we will do that if justice requires that. But we’re also cognizant of the victim’s wishes."

Wendling's comments contrast with those of Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith, who recused his office from the case because of a conflict of interest and expressed some skepticism about the case.

"If the alleged victim does not wish to go forward — well, that would normally be the end of the case right there," Smith told the Free Press earlier this month. "If we don't have a victim on an assault and battery case, you don't have an assault and battery case."

Many legal experts have disagreed, arguing a criminal case can still proceed based on the words of eyewitnesses: in this case, the football players in the locker room.

According to Warren police, investigators interviewed 69 De La Salle football players in the wake of the hazing allegations that abruptly ended the team's season last month. The interviews with players, along with six school officials, prompted police to issue a warrant request to the prosecutor's office, recommending three athletes be charged with assault and battery.

"I have assigned it to a prosecutor to review and they will report back to me on Monday about the viability of the case," Wendling said. "The allegations that have been made is that there is a potential for criminal charges against two juveniles, one adult. If we feel that the case has a reasonable likelihood of conviction if charged, then we'll charge it."

De La Salle head football coach Mike Giannone has declined comment.

The three suspects have been suspended from the all-boys Catholic school indefinitely and have refused to speak with police. So have 15 of their teammates.

De La Salle has publicly disclosed that hazing is far more "pervasive" and "deep-rooted" on the championship football team than originally thought. It was the school itself that outed the hazing allegations when it abruptly ending the football season on the eve of playoffs, citing hazing allegations as the reason.

The Pilots have won three state championships in the last five years.

More:De La Salle hazing victim won't talk to police. What now?

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Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com