Rook-on-Rook assault goes to court

Two Norwich University students are facing criminal charges stemming from an alleged assault on campus that occurred in early October.

Norwich freshmen Jonathan S. Philbrook, 18, of Rochester, Mass., and Michael R. Masse, 18, of Hanover, Mass., are scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 10 at noon for an incident that happened in Goodyear Hall on Oct. 1 at 22:30 hours.

Masse is facing charges of lewd and lascivious conduct, aggravated assault and disorderly conduct, while Philbrook is facing charges of simple assault and disorderly conduct.

According to a Nov. 19 press release from the Northfield Police Department, on Oct. 7 Northfield Police received a call from the Washington County State Attorney about the assault.

The release said a mother was calling asking about the progress of the investigation in which her son was the victim.

The state's attorney referred the victim's mother to the Northfield Police Department. Northfield police said an investigation was opened after the mother's call.

According to the press release, Norwich has started its own internal investigation and has collected evidence and statements from the involved students.

Northfield Police subpoenaed the statements, film and photos of the incident. According to The Times Argus, there is video of the incident.

The Guidon made attempts to get comment from faculty and student staff. Cadre said they are unable to comment.

Brig. Gen. Michael Kelley, the commandant of cadets at Norwich, said in an e-mail that he would comment on the situation when the issues were resolved.

Kelley told the Guidon last month that "The manner on which [the alleged assault] was done was reprehensible. It wasn't that the result produced physical injury as much as the assault was absolutely wrong in the way it was delivered."

Kelley said the alleged incident occurred when the victim was tricked by fellow freshmen in his platoon to leave his room after lights out to participate in a rookie birthday against another freshman, not against the victim himself.

"As I understand the sequence of events, a rook was called out of his room, ostensibly to go to another rook's room for a birthday party for another rook," Kelley said. "At that point, that rook was taken, duct-taped to a chair, and assaulted by members of (his company)."

Kelley told the Guidon earlier that although over a dozen freshmen were involved in the incident, no upperclassman were present during the assault and no cadre were aware of the events in the building. The incident was put to a stop when a senior in the corps noticed something unusual outside of Goodyear Hall.

"After lights out, the platoon leader for that particular platoon was out front of the building, and observed an overhead light on in (a freshman's) room," Kelley said. "So he went upstairs to investigate, and he discovered the birthday party had gone way too far, and put a stop to it."

Immediately after the discovery of the freshmen and the rookie birthday party, the senior cadet alerted the proper authorities and staff members, and began investigative actions.

"(He) started the initial gathering of information," Kelley said. "So the senior took immediate and significant action to stop what was going on, to gather initial information, and to make sure that the victim was OK."

Kelley told the Times Argus that what sets this assault apart 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, Kelley told the Times Argus.

The victim was not injured and did not require medical attention, Kelley told the Times Argus.

Northfield police told the Times Argus that 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.

The Times Argus said 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, Kelley told the Times Argus.