Video:Cheerleading Hazing

Seven Houston-area high school cheerleaders were indicted on hazing charges on Wednesday and could face jail time.

The Morton Ranch High School varsity cheerleaders have been accused of restraining several junior varsity cheerleaders, blindfolding them, binding their hands with duct tape and pushing them into a swimming pool at a cheerleader’s home on July 25.

The charges state that the varsity cheerleaders engaged in reckless conduct that endangered the mental and physical health and safety of the junior varsity cheerleaders.

The girls face probation and community service to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine if convicted of the class B misdemeanor charges.

News of the allegations made some parents very upset.

“Hazing is not fun anywhere. People could get hurt. People could die from it and we’ve heard plenty of things on the news about it, especially colleges, that do this, and there are people that get hurt and then there’s loss of life. And that scares the heck out of me,“ said Michelle Coats, a Morton Ranch High School parent.

One of Coats’ daughters was a mascot for the varsity cheerleading squad two years ago.

Her younger daughter is considering trying out for the squad. But the thought of possible hazing has Coats’ concerned.

“It just makes me so mad that kids think that they can get away with this,“ she said. “I was wondering where the parents were of this house. How could they get all this done with nobody paying attention to this, much less hearing that they were planning this? It just really made me angry.“

Coats said one of the cheerleaders charged is rated No. 1 academically in her class.

Harris County District Attorney said these charges are believed to be the first filed in Harris County under the state’s anti-hazing law, which was enacted in 1995.