[Mark Padgett]

Three Molalla (OR) HS basketball players have been arrested and accused of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration and sex abuse in what officials describe as a series of hazing incidents during a team trip that escalated into violent crime.

Under Oregon law, the three (ages 16, 17 and 18) will be tried as adults and, if convicted, will be sent to prison for a minimum of eight years. The allegations are that one of the boys held down the victim (another team player) while one of the others had a "much more active role" (quoting the D.A.). One of the three has a prior conviction on a sex abuse charge in 2004. According to police, the three will also face a second set of charges in another county due to a similar incident on a different team road trip.

Because they will be tried as adults under Oregon law, their names were released to the press and public. School officials had suspended the three in January after hearing about a "pantsing" incident in a motel hot tub (during a road trip to a tournament) but did not uncover more serious allegations.