Several parents attended the meeting on Tuesday night. (IPR photo by Sheila Brummer)
Hinton, Iowa — Two principals in the Hinton School District have resigned, including one who served as athletic director, after an assault investigation involving the high school wrestling team.
Hinton wrestlers told Coralville Police older teammates tasered them at a hotel during a tournament last month. A video on social media showed a player being held down on a bed during the attack.
A woman who identified herself only by the initials D.H. says her son was among seven freshmen who were targeted.
“A lot of things have been unraveling more and more and more,” she says. “It’s going to hit the Hinton community hard and it’s going to be getting worse before it gets better.”
A Coralville police spokesperson says additional information will likely not be released because all of those involved are juveniles.
The school district suspended several wrestlers but wouldn’t provide details, citing confidentiality concerns. Hinton’s head wrestling coach is on administrative leave, though parents say he is being allowed to teach math.
D.H. says it’s all very upsetting. “There are still a lot of people who need to be held accountable, and we still don’t have answers,” she says.
The two who resigned are identified as Phil Goetstouwers, the middle and high school principal, and athletic director Brian DeJong, who is also an elementary school principal.
The Hinton School Board accepted the resignations on Tuesday night but offered no reasons for the principals’ departures, effective at the end of the school year.
(By Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)
