No charges in Methodist sports hazing case

[hoosier]

2003-03-27



Methodist victim angry at decision


By Brett Friedlander
Staff writer



Kent Murphy says he was disappointed at a grand jury's decision not to indict Methodist College football players accused of assaulting him in the locker room.

"I was hurt, disappointed and angry, all at the same time," said Murphy, an 18-year-old freshman from Southern Pines. "It almost felt like I had been assaulted all over again."

Seven players, all upperclassmen, were charged by Methodist police after a Nov. 11 incident in which Murphy said he was pinned to the floor and stripped.

The players then tried to write on Murphy's bare buttocks with a marker. When he resisted, one of the players sexually assaulted Murphy with the marker, a police report said.

Antonio Wilkerson was charged with a second-degree sexual offense. The others, William Jamar Brown, Crasten Davis, Angel Garcia, Jamaal Legette, William McPhaul and Shawn Watkins, were charged with misdemeanor hazing.

The charges were dropped after the state Court of Appeals ruled in another case that enforcement of state laws by a religious institution is unconstitutional. Methodist is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.

Murphy said he believed the charges would eventually be reinstated. He said he was surprised by the grand jury's decision Tuesday, after the Cumberland County District Attorney's Office submitted charges against four of the players.

"I can't believe they didn't want to go forward with it," Murphy said Wednesday. "Everybody knows it happened. The school kicked one of the guys (Wilkerson) out.

"I kind of had a feeling this was possible, because (investigators) kept trying to play everything down. I don't think they realize how serious what happened was. The whole thing blows me away."

District Attorney Ed Grannis said that as far as his office is concerned, the matter is finished.

"There's nothing left to do that I'm aware of," he said. "The problem is there's a lot of inconsistencies, as you would expect."

Grannis said Methodist College police and the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office did a good job with the investigation. "The case had been investigated more exhaustively than some homicides," he said.

Grannis said the grand jury gave the case a great deal of consideration, but "in the end found no probable cause."

"You have to appreciate the integrity of the grand jury," he said. "It's the system and it works. It may not be the answer you want or that I want, but it's a democracy and it works."

Murphy and his family were upset by Grannis' comment on Tuesday that "something akin to hazing is a pretty common occurrence in the maturation of men."

Murphy's mother, Sharon Murphy, said she was outraged by what she called the insensitivity of Grannis' statement.

"Where is the human element?" she said. "I don't want people to cry over Kent, but this happened. Don't they care? The lacerations on his buttocks didn't get there from just looking out the window."

Lt. Sam Pennica of the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said the case against the Methodist players was damaged by conflicting statements made by Murphy immediately after the incident.

Murphy originally identified Garcia as having sexually assaulted him with the pen, but later said the act was committed by Wilkerson.


Traumatized

Tron D. Faulk, Murphy's lawyer, said the her client was still traumatized when he made his first statement to police and shouldn't be held accountable for it.

Even with the discrepancy, Faulk said, there should have been enough evidence from witness accounts to warrant indictments. She accused Grannis and sheriff's detectives of botching the case when presenting it to the grand jury.

"I've been a lawyer long enough to know that people get indictments for ham sandwiches," Faulk said. "The only time you don't get one is when the investigating officer goes in and says, 'This isn't a very good case.'"


Lack of notice

Paul Murphy, Kent's father, said he was upset that his son wasn't allowed to testify before the grand jury. He said that neither he nor Faulk were told by Grannis that a hearing had been scheduled.

"We drove down to talk to Ed Grannis several times and he shuffled us off into a room with a witness coordinator," she said. "All we got was the same smoke screen.

"Lt. Jimmy Black (the lead investigator on the case) said to us, 'If there are no homicides for us to investigate, we'll be back in touch with you in a week.' We never heard from him again. I just don't understand how they can have a hearing without the victim there."

Despite Tuesday's setback, Faulk said she hasn't given up hope that "justice will be served" in Murphy's case.

She said she is looking into the possibility of finding "a neutral party," perhaps the state Attorney General's Office, to prosecute the case. She said the Murphys will soon file a civil suit against Methodist and the seven players involved.

"We don't feel like we've been able to get justice from the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office and the DA's office," Faulk said. "I don't have any idea how it will turn out, but we're looking into all our options."

Cynthia Curtis, a spokeswoman for Methodist College, said the school is concerned about the safety of every student. Since the hazing incident, Curtis said, Methodist has added sections to its student handbook and handbook for student athletes. Athletes are now required to sign a form saying they have read and understood the hazing clause and agree to abide by it.