A Denton County grand jury indicted seven students and Coach Charles Zascavage on hazing-related offenses that occurred at a party attended by members of Flower Mound High School’s wrestling team on Aug. 27.
Zascavage has been indicted on four accounts of hazing, even though the Flower Mound police had charged him with only a single count of hazing.
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According to Denton County District Attorney spokesperson Leann Breading, the grand jury declined to indict him on a fifth count of hazing and on one count of assault.
Zascavage was relieved of his coaching duties last year but is still teaching at Flower Mound High School.
Out of the five LISD students tried as adults, only Dustin Blake Everett, 18 and Cory Andrew Talbert, 17 were indicted.
Everett was charged on three counts of assaults and bodily injury and four counts of hazing. The grand jury did not indict Everett on one additional count of hazing, Breading said.
Talbert was indicted on one count of hazing but was not charged on one additional count of hazing and two counts of assault.
Everett and Talbert had been charged by the Flower Mound Police with three counts of assault and one count of hazing.
The grand jury did not indict Thomas Andrew Pinckard, 17; Nathan Marks, 18, and Christopher Adam Well, 17.
According to Breading, the grand jury also recommended 13 charges on only five of the 13 juveniles, including two charges of sexual assault, 10 charges of hazing and one charge of assault and bodily injuries.
Out of the 18 students charged in the investigation, 16 have had punishment brought against them, ranging from suspension to placement in the district’s disciplinary alternative education program, LISD’s communications coordinator Tohma Morrison, said to the Leader.
The juveniles will now be brought to the Juvenile County Court at Law 1. The adults will go to one of the five misdemeanor courts in the county.
The juveniles indicted for sexual assault could face a jail term between five and 99 years, and those charged with Class B Misdemeanor of hazing could face a jail term up to 180 days and an optional fine not to exceed $1,000.
The juveniles and adults charged with assault, a Class A Misdemeanor, could face up to a year in jail and an optional fine of up to $4,000. All of the students that do not have prior record or convicted felony are eligible for probation, Breading said.
“Through the investigation, we tried to get a full picture of what happened, “Breading said. Though she said that no matter who is charged or not and on what counts, people are not going to be happy. ”
The case led to many heated debates and a substantial outcry from parents and students, many of whom supported the students and coach accused of various counts of hazing. The wrestlers that were not charged with sexual assault were reinstated to the team last fall.
Contact staff writer Cecile Satin at 972-538-2117 or [email protected]
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