A former Tamaqua Area High School football player charged with simple assault and harassment for his role in an alleged “hazing” incident will have his record expunged if he completes a probation-without-a-verdict program.

Zachary McGlinchey, 19, was charged on March 27 by Tamaqua police with two misdemeanor counts of simple assault and three summary counts of harassment.

Schuylkill County Judge Christopher Hobbs placed McGlinchey in the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition for 12 months on the simple assault charges.

The remaining charges were dropped.

McGlinchy will pay a $50 per month supervision fee and $350 to offset the cost of the program.

Hobbs also ordered him to perform 10 hours of community service.

In his criminal complaint, Tamaqua Sgt. Thomas Rodgers said he spoke to a Tamaqua Area High School student and his father at the school district building on Nov. 4, 2021.

The student told Rodgers that he was assaulted by several football players at the team’s field house at 329 Orwigsburg St., Tamaqua.

The student said McGlinchey punched him in the face and “forcefully pushed a banana against his clothed anus.”

In April, the fathers of two football players sued the district and its officials in U.S. District Court, Scranton. The suit describes sexual assaults of their sons by teammates, and subsequent cover-ups, bullying and freeze-outs.

The fathers allege that their sons were assaulted in the football house, a property where players store equipment and change for practices and games.

The fathers contend district officials and employees, including coaches, knew that while unsupervised, the players “behaved in a manner which resulted in their causing physical harm to each other.”

The suit also contends the football team has a “tradition” of sexually assaulting “certain freshman players by holding them down on the ground, beating them up,” and attempting penetration with an object.

The suit alleges that the district failed to protect their sons and took no action after the alleged assault.

Three students were expelled following the incident.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, ARD is a pretrial diversion program primarily for nonviolent first time offenders.

ARD places approved criminal defendants under supervision or in a treatment program without a formal determination of guilt.

To be placed on ARD, the prosecutor must recommend it, any victims must be notified, the judge must approve, and the defendant must agree to all the conditions of supervision or treatment. Defendants who complete the program generally have their criminal records expunged. Failure to complete the program results in prosecution and more severe sanctions upon conviction.