4th ex-Wheaton football player pleads guilty in hazing case

WHEATON, Ill. – A fourth former member of a Christian college football team in suburban Chicago who faced felony charges in a 2016 hazing incident has pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

James Cooksey of Jacksonville, Florida, pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanour count of attempted unlawful restraint. The 23-year-old ex-Wheaton College player was sentenced to a month of court supervision.

Three other former players — Samuel TeBos, Noah Spielman and Kyler Kregel — have previously entered guilty pleas to the same reduced charges.

A fifth, Benjamin Pettway, is expected to stand trial next year.

They were arrested last year in connection with a 2016 incident in which a teammate accused them of duct-taping him and dumping him half-naked in a park.

A grand jury in September approved a nine-count indictment against the men.