Wheaton football player pleads guilty in hazing case

March 29 2018
On Friday March 23, Noah Spielman, one of the five players in the criminal hazing case from 2016, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. In court, Spielman admitted to his involvement in the 2016 incident, which did not include bodily harm to the victim, Charles Nagy. In exchange, prosecutors dropped the felony charges.
Spielman stated in his plea that he held a limited but active involvement in the March 19 attack. He admitted to holding the elevator door open while Charles Nagy, the victim, was taken from  his room by Kyler Kregel, Samuel TeBos, Benjamin Pettway and James Cooksey, the other four players with felony charges.
Spielman also claims to have been riding shotgun in the car that Nagy was taken to the baseball field in. While Nagy was in the back of the car, Spielman played Middle Eastern music in the car. Prosecutors say he also spoke in accents during the ride to the field, where Spielman admits to kicking dirt on Nagy before he was left there.
“After a thorough and meticulous review of our written submissions, along with a detailed analysis of my client, his lack of criminal history and his respective involvement in this incident, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office has agreed to dismiss all felony counts,” Mark Sutter, Spielman’s attorney, told the Record. As part of the agreement, Spielman accepted responsibility for a misdemeanor battery charge.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Spielman can still be required to testify in future cases, especially in the impending case of the other four players. However, Sutter explained that “the resolution of this case should not be considered in evaluating the guilt or innocence of the remaining defendants or the merits of any pending civil action.”
Currently Spielman is serving a conditional discharge probation. According to the Chicago Tribune, while Spielman is on conditional discharge, he is ordered to perform 100 hours of community service, 25 of which are required to be speeches about the dangers of hazing.