2 Youth Baseball Assoc. Members Charged in Connection to Alleged Sexual Assault by Teen Players

Two men on the board of a South Dakota travel baseball organization have been charged for failing to report an alleged sexual assault committed in June by six players at a baseball tournament.

The charges were filed Tuesday against Jeremy Borgan, 48, and Luke Norden, 43, a spokesperson for the Pennington County State's Attorney's Office confirmed to The Messenger.

Norden faces two counts of failing to report child abuse and neglect and two counts of misprision of a felony, while Borgan faces just one charge of failing to report child abuse or neglect.

Norden and Borgan both sit on the board of the Mitchell Baseball Association, which oversees Mitchell, South Dakota's American Legion baseball team. Borgan declined to comment on the charge, while Norden was not immediately available to respond.

Six teenagers who were players on the team earlier this year pleaded not guilty last week to charges of sexually assaulting two teens during a baseball tournament in early June. 

Landon Waddell, 19; Hudson Haley, 18; Karter Sibson, 17; Carter Miller, 17; Lincoln Bates, 18; and Peyton Mandel, 17, were all charged with at least one count of second-degree rape and at least one count of aiding and abetting second-degree rape, according to court documents and the Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Haley and Waddell both face three felony charges. Haley was charged with two counts of second-degree rape, while Waddell was charged with two counts of aiding and abetting the assault. 

The other four teens face one charge of each alleged crime. Each charge carries a potential prison sentence of up to 50 years and/or a fine of up to $50,000. 

The six teenagers, who are all residents of Mitchell, pleaded not guilty after being indicted by a Pennington County grand jury in early August. Despite three of the teenagers being minors, they will be tried as adults because of the severity of the crime. They are expected back in court in February for a status hearing. 

The Mitchell Legion baseball team was playing in a tournament June 1-4 in Rapid City when the alleged sexual assault occurred, according to the state’s attorney’s office.

The Mitchell Baseball Association subsequently suspended the team and canceled multiple games while the alleged assault was first under investigation, and ultimately canceled the season in mid-July. 

Specific details of the assault remain sealed. The alleged victims are both 16 years old and have not been identified for their protection. 

Pennington County State’s Attorney Lara Roetzel said in a statement that the alleged assault was not hazing or an initiation ritual of any kind. 

“We have heard reports of people characterizing it as such, and those terms minimize the situation, which was a serious criminal offense, a forcible sexual assault involving two victims,” Roetzel said. 

Roetzel’s office conducted a two-month investigation into the alleged assault in coordination with the state’s Department of Criminal Investigation. Attorney General Marty Jackley has not commented on the case since July, when he issued a statement confirming the involvement of state criminal investigators. 

“As with all criminal complaints, they are being taken seriously. … The alleged victims and the subjects of the investigation deserve a complete and thorough investigation,” Jackley said at that time. 

Roetzel’s office said last week that investigators and prosecutors were considering filing additional charges against adults involved with the Mitchell Legion team who may have had knowledge of the alleged assault but did not report it to police as required by law.