Texas cheerleaders charged with hazing

HOUSTON, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Seven cheerleaders at a Texas school have been charged with hazing for allegedly blindfolding members of the junior squad and pushing them into a swimming pool.

The cheerleaders, who were all 17- and 18-year-old students at Morton Ranch High School in Katy at the time of the incident, were indicted as adults in Harris County Wednesday, the Houston Chronicle reported. A lawyer for one of the defendants said some other members of the squad could be charged as juveniles.

The indictment alleges that the junior varsity cheerleaders were invited to a restaurant breakfast, a tradition at the school. Instead, they were taken to a private house, tied up, blindfolded and pushed into the pool.

"This has been a very difficult time for the students and families involved and we are eager to see that this matter is appropriately resolved so that all students at Morton Ranch High School may continue on with the remainder of their school year," the Katy Independent School District said in a written statement. "Whatever legal action that is taken next is in the hands of the court system."