In the aftermath of the Sayreville hazing case, divisions are still evident.
SAYREVILLE — The Sayreville Board of Education got through almost an entire meeting Tuesday night without much of an explicit mention of the hazing case that rocked its football program and cast a harsh national light on a town of 44,000.
But in a sign that divisions still exist as the town readies for the start of school Thursday, a mother of two football players told the board that the district is unfairly keeping one of their teammates out of school, even though he was cleared of the most serious hazing offenses and found delinquent on other charges related to incidents in the locker room.
"I think it is wrong," Carolyn Porcaro told board members near the end of a meeting in the high school cafeteria. "The kids have been through enough."
The hazing defendant she was referring to was set to have a closed disciplinary hearing Monday night that might have determined whether he'd be allowed back, she said, but no action was taken. He was found delinquent on charges of simple assault and disorderly conduct after a Family Court trial.
Porcaro said her oldest son, a senior, was willing to tell the board that he was not afraid of his former teammate. Several other football players showed up, too, to support his efforts to return to school, Porcaro said.
In October of last year, seven juveniles were charged with brutally assaulting four of their teammates on the football team over the span of several incidents in the locker room.
Six of those cases have been resolved.
Four defendants admitted to hazing and endangering the welfare of their young teammates, two of whom said they held one boy down while another digitally penetrated his anus through his pants, according to the county prosecutor.
Two others — including the teen Porcaro was referring to — were found delinquent, or guilty, on charges of simple assault and disorderly conduct. All were cleared of the most serious charges, which included sexual assault. One case remains outstanding.
Porcaro said the district, the prosecutor's office, and the media has lied about the case.
RELATED: 6 Sayreville football players in hazing case avoid detention, Megan's Law
She was the only one to speak publicly against the district Tuesday night. Her own sons were not involved in the hazing cases — which she said simply did not occur, beyond roughhousing. The district said it could not comment on student matters, and it's unclear what is happening with the other six students, though it appears unlikely they will return to the high school.
John Bovery, also a Sayreville resident, said Porcaro had her facts wrong. In fact, he said, the students were not found innocent, as she claimed.
"I never heard the word innocent in reference to any of the six people," Bovery said. "I don't know, but I don't think we in the state put people on probation who are innocent."
District officials declined to comment. Board President Michael Macagnone said only that he stood by the board's actions last year.
In a separate news release Tuesday afternoon, a lawyer for another defendant — not the one Porcaro was referring to — said the prosecutor's office was misleading when it said the facts it had alleged had been proven in a court of law.
"It has been my contention from the onset of this case that the prosecutor's office should never have originally charged my client with the offenses that they did," Richard Klein said.
Klein clarified earlier comments he'd made, when he said his client was merely guilty of disorderly persons offenses and petty disorderly persons offenses. In fact, the judge determined his client was guilty of hindering because he lied to police.
But Klein said that charge was only filed seven months after the original incidents, and only after his client refused to take a plea deal.
"My client will be exploring all of his legal options that are available to him under the law," Klein said.
Brian Amaral may be reached at bamaral@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44. Find NJ.com on Facebook.