One of the five Wheaton College football players charged with hazing-related felonies is expected to plead to charges in the case Thursday, according to the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office and court records.
Noah R. Spielman, 21, of Columbus, Ohio, is expected to enter a plea, Paul Darrah, a spokesman for State’s Attorney Robert Berlin, said Wednesday. Darrah, however, declined to discuss details of the plea, which is scheduled to be outlined at a hearing before Judge Brian Telander.
Spielman had previously pleaded not guilty.
Spielman’s attorney, Mark Sutter, was not immediately available for comment.
Spielman, along with four other players, was charged last fall with aggravated battery, mob action and unlawful restraint on allegations they injured another Wheaton player during a hazing incident on March 16, 2016.
Authorities say the five players entered the other player’s dorm room and struck him when he resisted. The players placed a pillowcase over his head and bound his arms with duct tape before driving him in a pickup to a nearby baseball field and leaving him there partially clothed, authorities said.
The player, who has identified himself as Indiana resident Charles Nagy, allegedly suffered shoulder injuries from being bound and later required surgery. He withdrew from the school in the days after the alleged incident.
Last week, Nagy filed a lawsuit against Wheaton College and seven players. However, Spielman, who is the son of former NFL linebacker Chris Spielman, is not among the players named in the suit. The civil complaint does name three other players who were not charged criminally.
According to the suit, freshman players commonly faced hazing with the knowledge of the school and the team’s coach.
The case against another of the players was in court Wednesday. In that case, the judge approved requests from attorneys representing Kyler Kregel to subpoena records and witnesses from a dozen organizations and people with connections to Nagy.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
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