A second former Wheaton College football player pleaded guilty Tuesday in a 2016 hazing incident in which he and other teammates allegedly abducted and beat another team member and left him partially clothed in a baseball field.
Kyler Kregel, 22, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery before DuPage County Judge Brian Telander, and was sentenced to one year conditional discharge, as well as 100 hours of community service – of which 25 hours must be devoted to speaking about the dangers of hazing, according to court records. Other charges against Kregel were dropped.
In March, Kregel’s former teammate, Noah Spielman, of Columbus, Ohio, was the first to plead guilty. Spielman, 22, the son of NFL All-Pro linebacker Chris Spielman, was also sentenced to a year of conditional discharge as well as the same community service requirements as Kregel.
Kregel, Noah Spielman and three other players — James Cooksey, Benjamin Pettway and Samuel TeBos — were charged in September with a number of felonies, including aggravated battery, mob action and unlawful restraint in connection with a March 16, 2016, incident in which they allegedly injured another Wheaton player during a hazing incident.
The victim, Charles Nagy, was in his dorm room when the other five allegedly entered, placed a pillowcase over his head and bound him with duct tape before driving him to a local baseball field where they left him partially naked.
Nagy said he suffered shoulder injuries during the alleged attack and withdrew from the school the day after the incident. He has since filed a lawsuit against the university and a number of the players — including several who were not charged criminally.
Kregel’s attorney, Paul DeLuca, said his client — who graduated from the college last month — never intended to cause harm or pain to the victim.
“He did indicate to the judge, he did say words to the effect that, ‘If I ever thought in any way that I would cause an injury to this young man, and he wasn’t taking it in the spirit of a prank or that it would upset him or cause him any problems, I never would have done it,’” DeLuca said following the hearing.
“He’s a good kid. They’re all good kids,” DeLuca said. “It’s unfortunate, the whole thing. But it’s a fair resolution for everybody. Everybody gets to move on.”
A spokesman for the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s office declined to comment on the plea deal.
Charges against Cooksey, Pettway and TeBos are still pending.
Twitter @mattwalberg1
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