Montgomery County Judge: "There are important lessons in this case..."

Judge Who Presided Over Hockey Assault Trial Addressed Two Men Convicted of Simple Assault Before He Imposed Their Punishments

Last week, all eyes were on a Montgomery County courtroom where two ex-Ridley Raiders hockey players were convicted by a jury of assaulting CB West players during a playoff game at a Hatfield ice rink.

Brock Anderson, 19, of the 500 block of Ridley Circle, Morton, and Jake Tyler Cross, 20, of the 900 block of Greenhouse Lane, Secane, remained stone-faced and didn’t react when a jury, after listening to several days of testimony and nearly 11 hours of deliberations, convicted each of them of misdemeanor charges of simple assault and conspiracy to commit simple assault in connection with their conduct during a 10:19 p.m. March 9, 2017, on-ice incident at Hatfield Ice on County Line Road in Hatfield during the Eastern Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey Association Regional High School “Flyers Cup” Class 2A quarterfinal game between Ridley and CB West.

Brock Anderson/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

After the jury was dismissed, the men, through their lawyers, indicated to Judge Richard P. Haaz that they preferred to be sentenced immediately rather than wait several months to learn their fates.  After a few brief arguments from their lawyers and from the county prosecutor, Judge Haaz, who presided over the trial, retired to consider the sentences he would impose.

Jake Cross/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

Everyone in the courtroom waited anxiously, wondering what Judge Haaz, who listened to all of the testimony and watched videotaped footage of the on-ice skirmishes that was submitted as evidence by prosecutors, would have to say.

As Judge Haaz emerged from his robing room to address the courtroom, which was packed by relatives and supporters of members of both hockey teams, the accused and the victims, you could have heard a pin drop. The judge faced Anderson and Cross directly and stated the following:

“There are important lessons in this case. Being a good teammate, being a good friend, and being a worthy competitor requires you to be respectful of your opponents and to the sport you play. Good friends should prevent each other from making bad decisions, decisions that get themselves in trouble and hurt others. In any group of friends, someone has to step up and say, ‘This is a bad idea. Let’s not do it,’ or, ‘We shouldn’t do it.’

No one stepped up among your teammates. No one showed leadership. No one acted as a role model or as a responsible friend for each other. And you two were designated as leaders. A good friend and a good leader steps up and says, ‘This is a dumb idea. We’re not going to do it.’

You’re going to find as you go through your twenties and go through college and as you go through life, you’re going to be surrounded by people who come up with a lot of dumb ideas for you to do and for them to do. You should be the one to say, ‘We’re not going to do it. It is stupid. We’re going to get in trouble, or someone else is going to get hurt.’

When you don’t do that, this is what results.

Montgomery County Judge Richard P. Haaz/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

One of your defenses in this case was that sucker-punching an opponent is an acceptable and foreseeable risk of playing ice hockey. The jury rejected this defense. 

I believe most parents would strongly discourage their children from participating in a sport where it was acceptable and foreseeable that their opponents were allowed, without warning, to strike a player in the head, hit them from behind, and to keep hitting them in the head when they were already down.

You disrespected the game of hockey and all of those coaches you had over the years who, presumably over the years, tried to teach you good sportsmanship. There is a line between genuine athletic competition and unlawful conduct. The jury drew that line in this case and found your conduct to be unlawful.

As a result it is my responsibility to determine the appropriate sentence based on the just verdict.”

Haaz went on to sentence each man to one year of probation and 100 hours of community service.

Anderson and Cross, who did not address the judge or the victims before learning their fates, left the courthouse with relatives and one of their lawyers without commenting about the verdict or the judge’s sentence.