I’m getting tired of hearing Ooltewah and the school system downplay what happened in Gatlinburg as “bullying” and/or “hazing”. This was an aggressive criminal assault and should be treated as such. In no way does it even faintly resemble “hazing”.
The young men involved should be tried as adults and charged with especially aggravated sexual assault. And the adult chaperones and coaches that were in attendance? What do they think “chaperone” means? Sit on your butt and let something like this happen? There’s no way they could have been in the same cabin and not know something like this was going on.
They should be looked at as accessories to the crime. I get the distinct gut feeling that if the hospital and Gatlinburg police had not pushed this issue and filed charges, that it would have been “swept under the rug” with the hopes that it would "disappear". Kudos to Sevier County professionals for calling a spade a spade and bringing this to the attention of the authorities.
Susan Sanders
Soddy Daisy