Norwich deals with 'serious' assault
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By Thatcher Moats Times Argus Staff - Published: November 21, 2009
NORTHFIELD – Two Norwich University freshmen are facing an array of criminal charges after a group of students allegedly lured a fellow student to a "party" last month, bound him to a chair and assaulted him, in what school officials say is an extremely serious incident.
"This was way beyond the norm," said Michael Kelley, the vice president for student affairs and commandant of cadets at the private military academy. "In my six-and-a-half years here there has never been anything like this."
School officials and the Northfield Police Department investigated the incident, which took place on Oct. 4, and police announced on Thursday that they cited two of the students involved.
The student who faces the most serious charges is 18-year-old Michael R. Masse, of Hanover, Mass. He was cited to appear in Vermont District Court in Barre on Dec. 10 to face charges of lewd and lascivious conduct, aggravated assault and disorderly conduct, police said.
Jonathan S. Philbrook, 18, of Rochester, Mass., was cited to appear in court on the same day to face charges of simple assault and disorderly conduct.
Northfield Police Chief Jeffrey Shaw said the victim was invited to a room in Goodyear Hall at about 10:30 p.m. under the false pretense there was a birthday party there, and that is when he was assaulted.
Police cited Masse with lewd and lascivious conduct – which is a sex crime — for allegedly hitting his genitalia against the victim's head. (The Times Argus does not identify the victims of sexual crimes without their consent).
An upper-classman assigned to the group of freshman heard the ruckus and arrived at the room where the assault was happening, quickly stopped the fight and then reported the matter appropriately, said Kelley.
What sets this assault apart, Kelly said, is its sexual nature; the fact that the victim was restrained and couldn't defend himself; the large number of students involved; and the fact that there were many bystanders who didn't intervene.
"All of this makes this far more serious than you and I pushing and shoving and me throwing a punch and then our buddies" separating us, said Kelley.
The victim was not injured and did not require medical attention, Kelley said.
Shaw said the investigation — which turned up a video of the incident — showed that only Masse and Philbrook assaulted the victim, which is why other students weren't cited.
But Norwich officials plan to charge all 13 students involved at the school level, though not everyone has been charged yet.
All 13 students are still enrolled at the school, said Kelley.
"We are going through our administrative procedures now, and many of those have started and many of those will continue when we return from Thanksgiving break," said Kelley.
There are three different levels of disciplinary hearings at the school, which carry various potential penalties. Kelley declined to predict whether anyone would be suspended or expelled. But he said the students whom the university believes are guilty of the most serious offenses will face the highest level of disciplinary hearing, which means they could potentially be expelled or suspended.
School officials often wait for the state judicial process to conclude before making a ruling in a disciplinary matter, but the school was able to perform a thorough investigation and will not wait to begin disciplinary proceedings, said Kelley.
Neither Shaw nor Kelley believes the assault amounted to hazing, a type of incident that has happened at Norwich before.
Shaw said he will leave it up to the state's attorney to decide whether it is appropriate to file a hazing charge, but added that he doesn't believe it's warranted.
For hazing, "you have to have someone in a position of authority, and that may be what's lacking in this particular case," said Shaw.
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