Locker Room Antics...or, Assault?
 

LINK
In my opinion, this goes way beyond simple horseplay. "The boy" was obviously afraid of Schippert for a reason. He went out of his way to avoid him, and was unsuccessful. Now, we've all been to high school. We've all seen similar situations...though not to this degree, I hope. We've all known a "Schippert". Was this a simple matter of horseplay that got out of hand? Or, was it a display of dominance? Does it go so far as sexual assault? Should Schippert be made an example of? Or, is "the boy" just a whiney little mama's boy, that needs to toughen up and gut it out?

Man, that was sexual assault, plain and simple.

How can you penetrate without pulling the underwear down? Maybe think for a second that the underwear was forced up there too.

Brutal. This is why hazing is banned. People push the limits in the pursuit of "Cool" and then a line is crossed.

I'd put that pretty varsity boy in general population after his conviction, to show him what REAL HORSEPLAY is.

:|

Definitely assault. Sexual or not. I do not like to distinguish. It is also bullying. I thought that in this 'enlighted' era, bullying was actively rooted out in schools.

This Schippert character has some deep rooted issues. Psychiatry may be warranted. being kicked off the team and possibly suspended from school should also be considered.

Sexual Assault indeed. This is frickin stupid, saying it was just horseplay? Last time I checked sticking your fingers forceably into someone elses rectum is NOT horseplay. I don't think this has anything to do with hazing. Its more of someone going to far with something that shouldn't have happened. Schippert is going to get his ass chewed up in jail.

Um, horseplay is snapping each other with wet towels or giving noogies or something, not sticking fingers where the sun don't shine. Make the victim a female and there's no fucking question this is sexual assault.

Back when I was in high school and playing football this would be seen as a latent homosexual act. Schippert would not have made it out of the locker room without getting beat. I can't believe that six teammates witnessed this act and did not say anything to the coaches. This is not hazing or horseplay. This is some pent up agression released in an all male locker room. Schippert has some issues that he needs to work out. This kid has some problems. Just makes me sick.

After reading this I am picturing the boys in school who I reported to a teacher. They weren't allowed to come near me for 2 weeks. After that they seemed to act much more respectful to me. They were the bullies. Bullying no matter how it occurs needs to be dealt with. Bullying that is sexual in connotation is even worse. I think my teacher handled it well. I wonder why the coach when he learned of the actions didn't boot the bully from his team to begin with. I wonder if the issue would have gone to court if the boy had been dealt with already.

Definitely sexual assault. Schippert didn't 'accidentally' get his fingers that far in. Sometimes, I think it's harder for boys to be the victim of this kind of assault - more societal expectations and interpretations.
I hope Schippert gets to go to jail, and gets scared shitless. Maybe then he'll understand what it means to overpower someone else. Problem is, with this kind of person, more than likely that would just make him want to target a weaker person even more. If he's not stopped, I'd bet we'll have a serial homosexual rape/assault spree.

Oh man....I thought I heard it all. Jeezus. If I was 15 and this happened to me, I would have been scared shitless too.

I can't believe the defence attorney Angela said what she said about penetration..."How can penetration occur through clothing?" Slattery asked. "Ladies and gentlemen, how does it happen?

Well, if I put my fingers in her pusswa through her g-string panties...is that penetration??
If I get punched in the face and your wearing gloves...I guess that isn't assault. Lucky you.

I hope that senior spends a few months in the clink...he will then get to really understand the meaning of penetraton.

Yeah, I thought that too. If I was that lawyer, I'm not sure I'd be playing innocent like that.

Definitely sexual assault. Janey, the reason we're glad it's sexual assault and not simple assault is that sexual assault carries bigger sentences. According to the <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=sexual+assault+minimum+sentence+%2Bnebraska&btnG=Search">googling I did</a>, then this is a Class IV Felony, which doesn't have a minimum sentence, but has a maximum punishment of 5 years in jail or a $10,000 fine. I don't know whether Shippert's being a minor makes a difference in that, but I presume that it does.

Without a question, this was a sexual assault. The suspect can justify the actions with what ever excuse he wants but when you look at the entire episode, the only thing that matters is permission. Did the victim give permission to the suspect to stick his fingers into his rectum. The answer is no and that makes it an assault.

Assault, no question.

For one thing, horseplay is consentual and this was not.

I was a freshman on the varsity football team (reserves) in high school and the freshman would take a lot of teasing etc.. from the upper classmen. But this case is going way overboard. I am surprised that some of the other members on the team didn't stop this guy or take care of him afterward. From experience I have found that big guys picking on little guys is usually not tolerated by team mates. But since they didn't I am more surprised that the coach did not do anything after he found out.

It would have been better if the little guy's team mates would have rallyed around him and made the big guy regret it. But if no one came (will come) to his aid then I guess an assault charge may be warranted.

That's pretty awful. I read this on Fark awhile ago and was fairly disgusted. We've all had our share of locker room experiences, but this goes way over the line.

I too, am rather irritated at the other teammates for just sitting there and not doing anything. Wheres the camaraderie that is supposed to be there amongst these teams?

id have to agree with most the posts here, at first i thought it was going to be just a stupid hazing incident, imitating sexual acts or chasing around the locker room. but the fingers into the anus not only crossed the line it set it on fire and peed on it.
at my old high school the football players would chase the up and coming sophmore/juniors around the room and would dry hump them. it was funny to watch and doing nothing harmful as far as i can see.
ofcourse i bet that would appal some people

That is disgusting. Really, truly disgusting and disturbing. That kid needs some serious help.

And trust me...anyone who's gone beyond second base knows perfectly well how penetration can occur through clothing. Please, try a different argument.

I'm going with assault too. That is just flat out disgusting.

I saw plenty of "horseplay" in my highschool locker room, and none of it happened the way this was described.

who the hell defines horseplay to include unwelcome rectal penetration?

the clothing argument is the worst knockoff of the chewbacca defense i've heard in a long time.

I'm reminded of some other "hazing" that involved forcibly inserting broomsticks and PINE CONES into the rectums of freshmen on the football team. Makes me glad I didn't play football. I sincerely hope that he gets convicted of sexual assault, otherwise what message are we sending to other people? Do whatever you want, it's alright, you can just say "Opps, didn't mean it like that!" What's next for this kid, "No, I wasn't trying to shoot him! I was tickling his lungs with the bullets!!" This kind of distinction is ridiculous in most cases, and what Schippert did is somewhat akin to rape in my book.

I voted "something in-between"

Now, before people get on my ass, let me explain:

It was, at least, assault. But, it was not neccessarilly sexual assault, I believe most of you are jumping to that conclusion, assuming that it was a case of latent homosexuality being mixed with aggression. It really could have had nothing to do with sex. It could have simply one guy, trying to gain dominance over another. No, that doesn't make it any better, but it does not make it sexual. I believe that most of you are assuming it's sexual because it involves two males and a rectum.

It could very well have been sexual assault, but that will be up to the court to decide, most likely through a psychiatric evaluation. I'm just saying, don't jump to conclusions.

This is just like the story that the fark cliche UFIA came from. In that case the assaliant was not convicted. The judge said "an unsolicited finger in the anus, while crude, is not criminal"

That's bullshit. He deserves five years in a Federal Pound Me In The Ass Prison.

I see where you're coming from, and I can't claim to know the laws on this matter. But in the case of sexual harassment, whether it's sexual and whether it's harassment is entirely the victim's call. If a person engages in behavior that is percieved as another as sexual harassment, whether or not it was intended to harass, it IS sexual harassment.

I don't see why this should be any different. If the victim felt violated in a sexual way, why isn't it sexual assault?

Look, rape isn't inherantly sexual; most of the time it's about power. You could call it "assault with penis". Why is rape different from simple assault from the legal point of view? Because it's percieved so very differently by the victim!

I guarantee this kid isn't going to jail, he's a minor. The worst that could happen is he'll serve time in a juvenile detention center until he turns 18 and then is released with his records as a minor sealed, but I'm betting he gets off with some community service and an order to stay away from and have no contact with the victim.

And yes, I think what he did was absolutely wrong, crossed the line, should be punished, blah, blah, blah. But honestly, does that deserve time spent in a prison and to be made someone's bitch as several posters have suggested? I think not.

From my experience, big guys picking on little guys was generally accepted if not encouraged. I doubt I weighed more than 100 pounds until I was a Junior. More than once, I was at the recieving end of the "let's fuck with the little guy" horseplay.

I was a distance runner in HS. The runners shared the locker room with the football team. It was never a good idea to go in there without some friends. One could expect to get confronted by a few guys. As long as you didn't get obnoxious, the worst that would happen is all your stuff tossed into the shower, or your books or pants might get stolen. I doubt the unsolicited finger in the anus would have resulted, however.

But who knows. Our football coaches thought the funniest thing in the world was when their players would humiliate somebody.

Asshole coaches like that need to be fired. It's one thing for shit to happen without their knowledge but if they know and they laugh about it that is fucked up.

The sad thing is that this wouldn't be a question if the victim was a girl.

Without a doubt, it's assault.

He's just another bully who thinks he can do whatever he wants.

This guy should be watched.

Do colleges maintain sex offender lists? Minor or not it would make sense for a school to know they're on the receiving end of this kind of prick. I share the concern he's going to get a wrist slap, bury his illness, and take it out on another unfortunate down the road.

if i was on a grandjury i would indict......"truebill"


on a jury im not sure if i would convict...i would need more info.....

Yes, it is partly how the victim percieves the attack. But I don't buy the "rape is about power" thing for a second. Power may be part of it, but rape IS inherently sexual, otherwise it wouldn't be rape, it would be intimidation or assault.

Basically I consider sexual assault to be assualt dealing with sexual organs, which the rectum is not; an assualt that attacker "gets off on", or depending on the case, an assault where the victim has a reasonable* feeling of sexual violation.

*Reasonable meaning that the victim isn't taking things way out of hand, i.e. a woman is touched on the shoulder by a man she doesn't like and she calls it sexual assault, is out of hand.

Nope. They're trying him as an adult.

The football coach was fired, by theway. For those who are interested.

Take a stroll through the anal section of the local adult bookstore. It would disagree with you.

The reason I say that I don't know is because we really don't have all the facts. I wasn't there. So... let the jury decide.

Ok, I found an article regarding him being tried as an adult. Here's the link.

But in that article, there is a reference to another assault case (which is taking place in the juvenile courts):

So obviously this kid has a problem.

A LARGE part of rape is asserting dominance over the victim. He invaded the boy's privacy to the limit that it could be invaded without actually sodomizing him. Whether he was asserting dominance or wanting to get off does not matter. His reasons are inconsequential. His actions are what speak. I don't care if he says he was goofing off. The boy did not want the contact - goofing off is mutual - not forced.

I hesitated at first to call it sexual assult. I even looked at the boy as weak for going home and crying hysterically. Then again - someone invading my privacy and intimidating me to the point of touching my privates then I'd probably be crying too. I do hope that he doesn't let his parents fight this fight for him and cower in the corner saying "he violated me, what am I to do." He'll spend the rest of his life acting like a victim if he does that.

I didn't need the second article to figure out this kid has problems.

I mean, if sticking a finger up someone's ass and simulating a sexual act on an unwelcome party didn't clue you in before....

All the second article does is damn the kid further. One instance of assault is one thing, Two instances and that's a pattern.

It was sexual assault, no question. The "through the underwear" defense is laughable; of course you can have sexual penetration through fabric, otherwise condoms would be useless as birth control.

I'm amazed it got that far in a locker room with a bunch of teammates there... though I suppose high school can certainly be a breeding ground for intimidation. I hope they try him as an adult and make him go to therapy before he's let back into the general population.

Definately sexual assault. If convicted, I'm sure a couple of months in a cell with Bubba will educate Mr Schippert on the sanctity of one's rectum.

Would you consider your mouth a sex organ? What about your hand?

A sex organ is an organ related to reproduction, just because the rectum can be penetrated does not make it a sex organ.

I'm not saying that it isn't a part, I was just arguing the statement that rape isn't inherently sexual. I know that a large part of the mental aspect of rape on the rapist part is dominance and power, but if rape wasn't inherently sexual, then there would be no sex.

True, to a point. To determine whether or not this was a sexual assault case the reason behind the attack must come into play, if there was nothing sexual going on for the attacker, then the charge needs to be assualt, because there were no sex organs involved.

Yeah, I imagine a lot depends on the coach and what kind of example and code of conduct they set for the students. I am glad to read that this coach was fired and this kid expelled.

edited for accuracy in the lawyer's statement

When I was in high school, that kind of behavior would unquestionably be considered really gay. Bullying was pretty much limited to shoving smaller kids around, making them run through the locker room as they tossed their clothes all over the place, etc. Anal fingering was decidedly off-limits though.

If you're a scrawny computer geek like me, the best thing to do in high school is form alliances. I'd fix computers for the football players and show them how to find porn sites (this was in the mid-late 90s so the Internet was a pretty new concept to most people), and in return nobody ever messed with me. It was a good arrangement.

lol rat...thats pretty funny

can't take full credit for it. the Chewbacca Defense(r) tactic was pioneered by Johnny Cochran [sic] in a South Park episode. kind of ironic that even with the man dead, his Chewbacca Defense(r) is blossoming better than ever.

This kind of crap is what causes situations like Columbine. Especially if the victim is a quiet kid who doesn't tell anyone. One day, he's had enough.

I'm glad the perp is being tried as an adult. He reminds me of some cops I've known.
(Note: Not ALL cops. However, there are always a few on power trips.)

truly horrific! Assault, absolutely . . . what ethics does this young perpetrator have to think that it's okay to sexually assualt another peer and then call it 'horseplay' . . .

some sincere couseling is in order for both parties, but esp. for the young man acting on such bullying impulses, might indicate a more serious issue . . . aka lack of ability to have empathy, bullying victims etc. couseling and pronto.

Sweetpea

Plattsmouth teen acquitted of sex assault
LINK
This smells like last weeks tuna casserole. Well, the message has been sent. It's ok to stick your fingers into orafices, so long as it's through the undies, and you call it horseplay.
I'm thinking 5 minutes alone in a locked room would change her opinion.
Knowing what I know of Plattsmouth...this smacks of coercion to me. Awfully damn convenient.

Sexual assault. No doubt in my mind.
Saying that no sex organs were involved is a very gray area. A regular assault charge is not enough here.

I doubt Schippert intended it to be sexual assault. I am sure it was just a normal hazing or w/e to him. But that is the problem. I am sure Schippert still thinks that he did nothing wrong. The boy needs to go to prison.

Parents... Learn to raise up your children with a little regard to their fellow man.

**edit after viewing the last comment**
I love our legal system....

OK... I have been the victem of hazing by seniors when I was a freshman. I had the shit kicked out of me a couple of times. But this goes way over the top as far as I'm concerned... This guy should be in some kind of counceling far away from others that he could potentially hurt!

can you squeal like a pig??? fuck. Stories like this really make me believe that the good ole boy network, and the pathetic small town coercion stories that you see on TV really do exist.

what a bunch of fucking hillbillies. And what's with Defense attorney Angela Slattery??? just goes to prove that lawyers sell their souls to the highest (lowest?) bidder.

The outcome of this has made me very sad :( I don't know what else to say, other than the fact that these individuals are sick that they would deem something like that 'horseplay' . . .

sweetpea

i can't believe that verdict...i try to have faith in the jury system, but it sounds like this one choked. every failed prosecution of a sex crime makes it harder for the next survivor to come forward.

blargh...

Gah....eww

I'm very disappointed in this, but given the description of what the witnesses said, I'm not very surprised. With only the victim testifying that he was penetrated, and a bunch of witnesses recanting their statements, it's very, very difficult to prove sexual assault.

It's a shame that they didn't include simple assault as a lesser included offense, as Shippert's testimony was essentially a confession to assault.

Anyone who thinks simulating a sexual act on an unwilling victim is funny is in serious need of psychological help.

*prepares to be crucified*

I'm going to have to agree with the jury on this one here, please don't write me off as an idiot just yet. Having just finished my round of high school football, playing a year in college and then moving to rugby I can tell you with certainty this is a common occurrence. Very similar things have happened to me, hell everything that boy said happened to him has happened to me and just about all my other teammates. I don't think the issue is so much about domination, control or bullying as it is about just trying to make your buddies say "Dude, what the fuck?".

Basically its about pushing boundaries, seeing what you can get away with in front of your friends. The easiest way to push that boundary is to simulate homosexual activity because, as accepting as we pretend to be, in the guy's locker room this is very much off limits. If anyone were to actually admit to being homosexual in any given high school football team's locker room I would feel very sorry for that person. That being said, this is a sort of a norm for pushing the envelope(I'm NOT saying it's ok for this to be the norm just that it is.) in any way, especially among sports so blantanly 'macho' oriented.

Being that this was a freshman he may have been unaware of this type of behavior and the offender being a senior he may have thought this acceptable behavior, as did the other players who witnessed the event. So, no I don't think he should be marched down the Pen to be Bubba's bitch, but he needs to be told that this is not okay, even if it may seem that way to most people, then proceed from there. I'm sorry for the kid who feels victimized but sometimes you just have to grow a tough skin and move on.

Now you can call me an idiot.

so...homophobia, and homophobic violence is okay because it's team building?

yeah, i'm not going to call you an idiot. but i will say you have some fucked up priorities.

Woah, I never meant to say it was ok or that I even remotely agreed with the way things are or that it serves and worthwhile function, only that it is simply the way things are. I'm saying that at 17 your world revolves around cultural norms. In this case what he is doing is simply working within a subcultural norm, and while we sit here and say its wrong because it is, he may not have really thought about that possibility, so you shouldn't be grabbing your pitchforks and torches quite yet.

Dude!!!

We gave a lot of wedgies, and there were other initiation rites when I playing soccer...but the old finger to the first knuckle in the ass trick? Hell NO I don't know that I'd necessary go jail time for this kid, and in fact I can't really say what I'd recommend without actually having a lot more information about it. But shit...jabbing your finger in a teammates red eye would have been a serious problem when I was playing. Icky icky foo.

I guess he get's to go to the prom now.

If you don't agree with the way things are....why wouldn't you want to set a standard that changed what was happening?

If the cultural norms are wrong...then call them wrong and confront them. That this assailent was part of a culture that tolerates homophobic violence, then that means i want to confront the assailent, the assailants actions, and the assailant's culture.

There's no excuse under the law for "it's what we do."

Oh, oh, i have another story similar to this one...You guys'll love it...
Wrestling team, at state, in a hotel. Teacher walks into the guys room, and find a freshmen down on the bed, with a senior over his face, pants down, with his balls on the kid's forehead...oh yes, teabaging. Been going on for YEARS, and the teachers had no idea (or so they claim).
Nice to know sexual assault is alive and well, and being practiced on young boys before it's used on the young women...

and to think i'd only seen teabagging at parties...but seriously between friends, one passed out, usually involving a polaroid. many laughs had the next day. i think a lot of this stuff can be contextual - in the case of the inciting incident for this thread, i think it's safe to say the 15 yr. old kid wasn't down with the sphincter palpitation.

/seriously, who sticks their fingers in a stranger's ass? who wants their fingers smelling like some kid's asshole all day? icky icky foo. then again, i've heard about some weird shit involving less-than-stellar examples of dna and athletic/alpha displays. i'd hate to see all initiation rites dropped because of this kind of crap, but this kind of thing is just unacceptable.

/agree

I didn't say don't change it, but the major tone of the thread up to this point was that this was a clear cut case a bullying and sexual assault with some kid being victimized intensely and that the offender should server the maximum penalty under the harshest law. I'm saying that this isn't the best way to solve it because it is very possible that that isn't the way it happened. Simple horseplay that can get carried away at times, by all means change it. No it isn't right. No it shouldn't stay the same.

Really it's this statement right here. I can totally imagine this happening in my locker room, back at my high school and it would end up being virtually the same case. With everyone being totally caught off guard and saying "Sorry, we really didn't think this would bother you." It says in the article that the older boy was a recipient of the same kind of treatment and I'd bet that this type of thing happened more than once between these two. I was just trying to make the point that I don't think this is really sexual assault but a simple case of horseplay going a bit too far.

This is the point I was trying to make, there is not simply a 'one rule solves all these problems' but that stuff like this really needs to be taken on a case by case basis. I think that it is easy to get the wrong impression and jump to extreme conclusions in a case like this.

Oh brother - time to move.
Really how could they not see this as at least sexual harrassment. Or at the very least harrassment? Tutoring by the school staff. This kid isn't missing out on anything or learning that his behavior was inappropriate in any way. I won't be surprised to hear of something down the road where he got a girl out on a date and wanted more contact than she did. I really hope someone finds the balls to stand up to him again. It's a pity not one of those witnesses had the guts to stand up. I hope they regret it enough not to back down again to a bully. Grrrr bullies.

It was wrong, what he did, I don't care what you want to call it. Go ahead and leave out the sexual part but it was unwanted physical contact that was forced on another kid after much protest and avoidance. That's enough for me. Sick.

if thats not sexual assault what is?

a cleear victory for the Chewbacca defense(r) once again. anyone else see it coming?