SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Three Tennessee high school basketball players are due in juvenile court to face charges that they raped a freshman teammate in an apparent hazing incident.
The Sevier County Juvenile Court clerk’s office confirmed a hearing for the Ooltewah High School players was scheduled for Tuesday. Because it’s a juvenile case, the hearing is closed to the media and the public.
The three defendants face aggravated rape charges. Gatlinburg police say the three Ooltewah players assaulted a freshman Dec. 22 while the team was participating in a holiday tournament. Police say the boy required emergency surgery after older teammates held him down and assaulted him with a pool cue.
A judge rejected prosecutors’ attempts in March to have one defendant transferred to adult court.
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