SCHOOLS Howland officials: No hazing occurred

HOWLAND -- Township school officials say their own interviews show no wrestling team hazing occurred last month.
Beyond that, no details will be discussed. "We don't want to talk about our students in public," said board President Raymond J. Tisone on Wednesday.
Ray Crawford, 18, of Allenwood Drive appeared Dec. 6 before Warren Municipal Judge Terry Ivanchak on a charge of gross sexual imposition, a fourth-degree felony. That charge was reduced to disorderly conduct, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. Crawford pleaded no contest. He will be sentenced after graduation, the judge ruled.
Warren's law director, Greg Hicks, has said there is also some disagreement among witnesses as to whether Crawford and a juvenile co-defendant exposed their genitals Nov. 22 to a freshman in the high school gym locker room. He said there clearly was improper conduct, despite Howland schools' position that the situation didn't happen as described.
Tisone declined to discuss the case in specific detail when asked about a letter he sent to The Vindicator.
"It is time to set the record straight. For anyone who wants to know all the details of what happened, you will have to look elsewhere," Tisone, a lawyer, wrote.
Policy and the law
But he does note the school board adopted an anti-hazing policy several years ago that is the same as Ohio law.
"Everyone who has seen the results of this investigation, including the administrators, the board and the prosecutor, has concluded that what happened was not hazing," Tisone wrote. He didn't say what it was.
The board president said the school board's decision to protect students' privacy and confidentiality is both legally and ethically sound, noting Ohio law requires protecting the confidentiality of students' records.
Tisone said if students are wrong, they are punished according to established school policy, he said. If criminal charges are filed, the schools have no control over the process. "Regardless of whether a crime was committed, we impose the punishment dictated by school policy -- but always outside the public view," he explained.
Tisone said the matter was investigated in the same way that any other student complaint is addressed:
UWhenever there is any incident that involves students, it is directed to the building principal for investigation. The school resource officer, a Howland police officer, is notified.
UThe investigation proceeds with the resource officer and either the principal, an assistant principal, or both. They interview all the students involved and any named witnesses. The security cameras are checked.
UWhen an incident occurs in a classroom, restroom or athletic locker room, the cameras record who entered and exited, so that everyone in the room can be identified and interviewed if necessary.
UThe administrators determine whether there was a violation of the school's code of conduct. If so, appropriate punishment is given.
UIf the investigation reveals that there was criminal conduct, the resource officer contacts the appropriate prosecutor for the filing of criminal charges. If an alleged victim goes to the prosecutor and actually files charges, the resource officer does not investigate the criminal charges any further without the direction of the prosecutor.
"In the recent case, these policies were followed. There were interviews of participants and witnesses, many of them more than once. The participants' first interviews took place the first day they were available in school after the incident," Tisone said.