MITCHELL, S.D. (NewsNation) — Six South Dakota high school baseball players were charged with rape following allegations of forcible sexual assault, according to the Pennington County State’s Attorney.
The six teenagers, all members of Mitchell Post 18’s varsity baseball team, appeared in front of a judge Tuesday in Pennington County, where they all pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
The suspects — Peyton Douglas Mandel, 17; Lincoln Charles Bates, 18; Hudson Michael Haley, 18; Karter Marcus Sibson, 17; Carter Ryan Miller, 18; and Landon Willian Waddell, 19 — were joined in court by dozens of supporters. All juveniles in this case are being tried as adults.
Haley has been accused of raping two victims and aiding and abetting. Waddell has charged with one count of rape and aiding and abetting in the rape of two victims. If found guilty, they both face a maximum sentence of 150 years behind bars.
The four other teenagers were all charged with rape and aiding and abetting. Those charges all involve the same victim. Those four could face a maximum of 100 years in prison.
Pennington County State’s Attorney Lara Roetzel confirmed to NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo that the victims were male.
The American Legion responded to the allegations in a statement, saying, “The allegations are very disturbing and are not in keeping with the traditions and the core purposes of American Legion Baseball.”
The case first made headlines in June when the Mitchell Baseball Association suspended the team and canceled several games after allegations arose.
It happened shortly after a tournament in Pennington County, which is where the alleged crimes took place.
The allegations were then taken to the State Department of Criminal Investigations because there were beliefs local law enforcement had connections to the baseball team, Roetzel said.
That’s when investigators found that the incidents actually happened in Rapid City, South Dakota, Roetzel said, and that’s when the case was transferred under her jurisdiction.
Roetzel also said what was interesting about the case was that it was initially reported as a hazing incident, and that’s how Mitchell Baseball was treating it.
“I also think it’s very important for people to understand that I do not think that this was an isolated incident within the Mitchell Legion baseball team. I do believe that this was a culture of repeated behavior that had been going on for possibly years,” Roetzel said.
She continued, “It’s really frightening to me that they were characterizing it as hazing because you know, hazing connotates something entirely different. And this is not that. This is an actual act of sexual assault, not hazing or association.”
One of the suspects’ attorneys asked the judge to clarify whether he could attend school and school activities.
Mandel, who goes to the same school as one of the victims, was able to attend school, but the judge ordered him to stay 30 feet away from the victim.
He is also able to participate in basketball and other activities, as long as the victim isn’t involved. He is allowed to attend school events, like football games, as long as he stays 100 feet away from the victim.
All six suspects are scheduled to be back in court February 6, 2024.
NewsNation affiliate KELO contributed to this report.