Nine charged in Mr. Carmel High School Football hazing, burning incident

Ryan Dickinson
Hand holding sparkler - File Photo

MT. CARMEL, PA – Nine members of the Mt. Carmel High School football team have been charged with hazing, resulting from multiple incidents where juveniles were burned with sparklers at the home of the team’s captain.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced that his office has filed charges against nine former Mount Carmel High School football players.

According to the charges, Mount Carmel High School football team members were accused of hazing in 2020 following a referral from the Northumberland County District Attorney’s Office.

“In two separate incidents, football players were invited to football captain Reed Witowski’s house to watch game footage. Reed Witowski, Damon Dowkus and another captain who was a juvenile at the time burned the new starting players with lit burning sticks and sparklers during the watch party,” the state claimed in its filings.


Reed Witowski, Damon Dowkus, and another juvenile have been charged with Hazing, Simple Assault, and Intimidation of a Victim.

Several other members of the team, including Tyler Owens, Michael Balichik, and four other juveniles, have been charged with Hazing and Criminal Conspiracy to Commit Hazing.

Joseph Sembrot, Senior Deputy Attorney General, is prosecuting this case.

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