Ten members of the Cheltenham High School football team, along with several coaches, are facing charges in connection with an alleged locker room assault on a 15-year-old player. The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office stated that the player was subjected to two separate assaults in 2025.
The first incident, occurring on August 15, 2025, was reportedly captured on video by juvenile players and later shared among teammates. Prosecutors indicated that the recording showed several players holding the victim down while others used a broomstick to poke him. No coaches were present during this initial assault.
A second incident allegedly took place on September 3, 2025. Witnesses reported seeing Isaiah Simpson, 18, kicking or stomping on the victim, while another juvenile player used a broomstick to poke the victim's buttocks. The victim told investigators he curled into a ball in his football gear to protect his head and groin while being kicked and punched with cleats. Coaches were not directly involved in this incident, but four coaches reportedly learned about it afterward.
Isaiah Simpson has been charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person. Josiah Peeler, 18, faces a charge of false swearing. Four other juvenile football players have also been charged.
Head football coach Terence Tolbert, 55, volunteer coach Ralph Burnley, 60, assistant coach Darian McFadden, 42, and assistant coach Benjamin Johnson III, 45, are charged with conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a child and endangering the welfare of a child. According to authorities, Burnley gave the victim a ride home after practice and learned of the player's injuries. He then informed Tolbert, and text messages and a group call followed. McFadden and Tolbert allegedly instructed the victim not to tell his mother about the incident, while Johnson was part of a decision to handle the matter internally rather than report it to the school or the victim's mother, reportedly out of concern for jeopardizing the team.
The victim's mother learned of the second assault from another parent and took her son to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a contusion to his penis.
School administrators were alerted to the alleged hazing via an anonymous reporting app. Following the report, police were contacted, and the football team's season was canceled. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele stated that the assaults were not "typical goofing around by teammates" but constituted criminal acts. He added that the Grand Jury reviewed witness testimony and evidence, including videos of one assault, before recommending charges against the players and coaches. Simpson and Peeler are pictured in their Cheltenham High School football jerseys.