Trent Lehrkamp: Homeowners arrested as official says Georgia teen was not hazed or tortured at party
GLYNN COUNTY, GEORGIA: The homeowners of the property where 19-year-old Trent Lehrkamp were reported to be brutally hazed and tortured, surrendered to authorities in Glynn County, Georgia, on Monday, April 17. However, in a shocking update following the arrest, Glynn County District Attorney Keith Higgins revealed that Lehrkamp was not tortured or hazed in the party but voluntarily participated in all activities, The Sun reported.
James Carlton, 46, and Lauren Strother, 56, were charged with two misdemeanor counts in relation to the March 21 incident. They reportedly own the house on St Simons Island, about 83 miles south of Savannah, where the viral video showing an unconscious Lehrkamp being sprayed with a water hose first emerged. Another photo, likely from a separate incident on March 17, showed the teen passed out on a chair covered in spray paint and other substances. The content sparked major outrage online and the public demanded an investigation into the incident.
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Initial reports suggested that Lehrkamp was dropped off and abandoned at the Brunswick emergency room on the night of the incident. Meanwhile, locals believed that Lehrkamp was a victim of vicious bullying. However, authorities are now claiming that the reports were exaggerated as the teen attended the two parties on Saint Simons Island at his own will. Higgins also alleged that the people who dropped Lehrkamp at the hospital sought proper medical assistance for the teen and left behind their contact information.
‘He was not tortured’
On March 21, Lehrkamp, who was said to be on the autistic spectrum, was left at the Southeast Georgia Health Center in an extremely intoxicated state, covered in spray paint, urinated on, and barely breathing. Initial reports from cops suggested that the 19-year-old was a victim of hazing and allegedly forced to eat hallucinogenic mushrooms and drink excessive amounts of alcohol before being spray painted and covered in human urine. Previous reports suggested that the teen was also hazed during another spring break party on St Simons Island that same month.
However, Glynn County DA Keith Higgins recently said that the claims about Lehrkamp were part of “misinformation spread on social media,” The Sun reported. The officer alleged that the teen was neither autistic nor a victim of hazing or tortured. “He was not tortured. On March 21…Trent voluntarily drank alcohol until he blacked out. No one poured alcohol down his throat or forced him to drink. No one pushed a funnel down his throat. No one urinated on him,” the district attorney said during a press conference.
He claimed that Lehrkamp urinated on himself after heavily drinking at the party and asked to be hosed off after having a fight with his fellow partygoers. “At the residence, he [Lehrkamp] voluntarily drank alcohol, he engaged in an egg fight, and he consented to be washed off with a water hose after the egg fight had ended,” Higgins stated. “Specifically, he asked to be allowed to take some electronics out of his pockets before he was washed off, and he voluntarily sat on the chair that's depicted in the video that was spread out on social media,” he added.
While Lehrkamp ended up in the ICU following the incident, he was taken off the ventilator within a few weeks after being declared stable by doctor. The teen’s father initially told investigators a group of males repeatedly targeted his son but the remained friendly with them despite the harassment “because he has no other friends.” The teen and his father are yet to publicly respond to Higgins’ latest statement.
Three juveniles arrested in connection to Trent Lehrkamp’s incident ‘quite probably saved his life’
In addition to the Strothers, three minors were also charged in connection to Lehrkamp’s incident, the New York Post reported. The juveniles were reportedly arrested on misdemeanor charges. However, Higgins said that the teenagers did not abandon Lehrkamp at the hospital. He said that the juveniles, including 17-year-old Edward Rooker Hobby, “quite probably saved his life.”
“After realizing that Trenton needed medical attention, Rooker Hobby drove Trent to the hospital,” Higgins noted. “Rooker Hobby and the juveniles that accompanied him just didn’t drop him off at the outside. They went inside, got medical personnel to come outside and take him in so that he could get the medical care that he needed. They then left their correct names and telephone numbers before leaving,” he added.
Officials said Hobby was arrested for a separate incident at Strothers’ home. His battery charge involved a different victim and was reportedly unrelated to Lehrkamp. The charge was only uncovered in the process of investigating the alleged hazing incident. Glynn County Police Department interim chief O’Neal Jackson said two of the other individuals arrested included a minor charged with simple battery and criminal trespass and another teen charged with possession and use of drug-related objects. Their identities were not revealed because the juveniles are charged with misdemeanors.