Basketball players’ final hearing delayed, again

The five former Molalla High School basketball players facing felony sex abuse charges in Clatsop and Deschutes Counties are still awaiting final hearings, but a resolution to their case may come by the end of this month.

Joshua Haqq, John Berokoff, Cody Anderson and brothers Onisefor and Vlasy Kutsev are being charged for hazing incidents against a teammate that allegedly occurred on a varsity team road trip in December of 2006.

The young men’s hearing in Deschutes County has been postponed several times. Most recently, their April 14 hearing was rescheduled for April 28, because the district attorney is still negotiating terms for a plea bargain.

They are scheduled to appear in Clatsop County next Tuesday for a final resolution conference hearing, where they have also been offered a plea bargain.

Instead of being charged with Measure 11 crimes of sex abuse, the plea bargain would likely reduce the young men’s charges to third degree assault, greatly reducing prison sentences and keeping them from being labeled sex offenders if found guilty.