Leerkamp Defends Charges; Criticizes Delph Criticism

Hamilton Co. Prosecutor Sonia Leerkamp met with Star reporters yesterday and defended criticism that the misdemeanor charges she brought against four former Carmel High School basketball players accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old basketball player on a bus and in the school's locker room didn't match the crime. She also responded to Sen. Mike Delph's criticism of her for not bringing felony charges in the case. Delph is the only elected official in Hamilton Co. to criticize the handling of the case to date. The parents of one of the victims in the current case claims their son was held down, his pants were removed and he was anally penetrated on a team bus where 51 students and three coaches were riding at the time. The parents say their son was victimized not once but on several occasions by the same basketball players accused in this case.

Leekamp's response to criticsm sounded strikingly similar to her explanation to the Star a decade ago in another case where she brought no charges in a case this blog exclusively recalled where three swim team members at the school were accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old swim team member in the school's locker room and showers. Leerkamp complained that witnesses, who she exclusively got to choose to testifify before a 6-person grand jury, gave conflicting testimony during the grand jury proceedings. "I'm not going to necessarily accuse any of the victims of not being credible witnesses," Leerkamp told The Star. "What I'm saying is, in the context of all the evidence, that is what has to be weighed." By not bringing the more serious charges of criminal deviate sexual conduct, criminal confinement and sexual battery, Leerkamp is saying that she doesn't believe the victim's claims just like she said she didn't believe the victim a decade ago, who she said suffered from "a learning disability." In the case a decade ago involving the 15-year-old swimmer, Leerkamp said then that the grand jury heard insufficient evidence to indict the accused. She said she thought the students were mean to the victim then because of his learning disability.

Joel Schumm, a clinical professor at the IU School of Law-Indianapolis, said Leerkamp's comments sounded more like one would expect to hear from a criminal defense attorney, not a prosecutor. The attorney for the victim is not surprised that some witnesses gave differing accounts. "These are star basketball players -- senior basketball players who had a lot of friends -- and they're going to try to protect them," Turner said. "My client is credible. He is a victim, and they've got to treat him like a victim."

Leerkamp also answered Sen. Mike Delph's criticism that she should have brought felony charges in the case. She told the Star's reporters that she had spent a day responding to e-mails and phone calls criticizing her decision. "She also said she was disappointed that Delph did not seek an explanation from her before posting his comment," the Star reported. "I had no agenda one way or the other on the outcome of the case," she said Saturday.

The reporters apparently never questioned Leerkamp about the similarities in this case to the one involving the swimmer a decade ago. There is no mention of the case in their interview reported in today's Star. I also learned some more information over the weekend that has troubled me in this case. I hadn't heard an explanation for why the four seniors, John Scott Laskowski, Brandon Hoge, Robert Kitzinger and Oscar Falodun, were riding on a freshman bus on the night the sexual assault allegedly occurred. A Carmelite informs me that when the bus made a stop at a rest area on the trip home from Terre Haute, the team's head basketball coach became very upset at how the four were acting and told them that if they wanted a ride home they would have to ride on the freshman bus. That account has not been confirmed by those who investigated the case, and I haven't heard any other news reports on that question. Also, I raised a concern about the size of the bus, whether the smaller or larger-sized bus had been used. According to the documents released to the media on Friday, there were 51 students on the bus, which means it had to be a larger-sized bus.

UPDATE: The Star's Robert Annis says reference to the 1998 case was supposed to be included in the story that ran Saturday. He wasn't sure why it wasn't. He said that he believed earlier stories mentioned it. I've been following it closely, and I didn't see any mention of the old case; however, sometimes the Star the newspaper's online editions vary from the print edition.

What About The Size Of The Bus?

An observant reader points out that the size of the bus the Carmel basketball team used when a freshman member of the team was allegedly sexually assaulted by several members of the senior team was not the traditional size of school buses. The reader informs me the smaller bus the freshman team used when traveling to and from Terre Haute is similar in size to the buses shown at the left. We're told three coaches were on the bus at the time the sexual assault is alleged to have occurred but were not aware of what was taking place. Nobody has explained why the seniors were riding on the freshman bus that night. We're also told by Hamilton Co. Prosecutor Sonia Leerkamp that the video tape recorded that night by the on-board video camera was too dark and grainy to show what had transpired and had been sealed with other grand jury documents. It just doesn't add up. What happened to the second victim on the bus? His parents feared retribution because of the mother's employment relationship with the school and decided not to press a criminal case according to a Fox 59 News' update tonight. Things are really stinking in the criminal justice system up there in Hamilton County. And people were worried about David Wyser making it into the prosecutor's office. Supposedly Laskowski had his sights set on playing basketball for IU and Hoge and Kitzinger planned to play at Depauw. Hopefully, those plans are nixed for good by the respective colleges. Maybe Leerkamp will get that judgeship she's always wanted, or maybe not.

UPDATE: Sen. Mike Delph becomes the first elected official in Hamilton Co. to speak out about the charges brought in this case. On his Facebook site last night, Delph wrote, "As a lifetime Carmel resident and a graduate of Carmel High School, I am very troubled by the misdemeanor charges filed against the accused." "This should not be swept under a rug." Delph continued, "Felony charges should be filed and a jury should render judgment after both sides present their evidence." "No one is above the law!," he said.

UPDATE II: Leerkamp denies the team used the smaller bus on the trip. Others say the smaller bus is used by the team. If she would have simply disclosed the video tape she doesn't want the public to see, it could help clear up the matter. Let the public decide whether it is "too dark and grainy." The smaller buses hold up to 30 children and 20 adults. Leerkamp's reaction to the victim's parents was that she wanted them to come and talk to her if they had new information in the case. Hasn't she already talked to the victim and his parents after all this time?

UPDATE III: Newly-released documents from the school indicate that 51 students were on the bus on the night of the alleged attack, which means it had to be the larger-sized bus. I've also heard from one Carmelite about a possible reason the four seniors were riding on the freshman bus. According to this person's account, the four players had been acting up and the team's head coach became upset with them. When the buses stopped at a rest area on the return drive from Terre Haute, the coach is said to have told the four that if they wanted a ride home, they would have to ride on the freshman bus.