PRANK RAISES RESPONSIBILITY QUESTIONS (FIRST OF THREE PARTS)

On the night of March 19, a group of sophomore boys at Jackson High School played a joke on one of their friends. A boy was kidnapped, bound, gagged, roughed up and, with his head covered, terrorized with the roar of a chain saw. He was tied to a cross. While hanging on the cross, he says he was told by his abductors that they were going to burn him and urinate on him.

At the end of the ordeal, the teen-agers surrounded their friend on the cross and had their picture taken by a parent who was present. At least some of the boys' parents knew about the prank in advance, and some parents participated.

The boy who wound up on the cross said the leader told a crucial lie. He told the other boys and their parents that the victim's parents had given their permission for the kidnapping. In fact, they had said, "Absolutely not."

Their son put up a brave front but left the scene sobbing. He was devastated, viewing the kidnapping and mock crucifixion as a betrayal by his best friends.

His grades began slipping, and school administrators became concerned about his absences.

Juvenile authorities learned of the incident only because the leader of the group was eager for other students to know about it. Authorities contacted the high school administration out of concern about the possibility that friction could erupt into violence.

Eventually seven boys, all ages 15 and 16, were prosecuted for misdemeanor assault and were required to undergo counseling and do community service. The leader was placed on formal probation. No adults were charged.

The victim's parents remain incensed, especially that other parents allowed the humiliation of their son to occur in their presence. They also are unhappy with the school's response to the incident that has consumed their family for the past six months and has cost them the pleasure of their son's company.

Lawsuits are pending and, in a city that loves its high school football team, there are questions about whether the leader of the prank ought to be suiting up.

Rumors about what happened that March night have been swirling throughout Jackson for months. Many of those rumors are filled with misinformation. The stories being presented today, Sunday and Monday are the result of attempts to get the most accurate information available from those who were involved and those who took part in investigations by police and school officials.

At the request of the parents of the boy who was kidnapped, no names of the boys involved are used in today's story or in installments to follow. The name of the victim also is not being used at his family's request.

The incident and subsequent events have divided the familial city of Jackson between those who think the parents are right and those who think they are overreacting. The issues go to the very meaning of responsibility: a parent's, a school's, a friend's.