Camp counselor arrested, accused of teaching 'choking game'
The Associated Press
CHARLESTON, S.C. --Clemson University is investigating a camp with ties to the school after a 17-year-old counselor was arrested for teaching the so-called "choking game" to two boys that passed out for several minutes, officials said Friday.
"We're clearly interested and concerned with the safety of campers," said John Gouch, assistant director of Clemson News Services. "We are in close contact with the parents and the law enforcement about this."
Ronald Edward Riley, of Saluda, was arrested at his high school this week on assault and unlawful conduct charges and was being held Friday at a Clarendon County jail on $30,000 bail. Jail officials said they didn't know whether Riley had an attorney, and the sheriff's department did not immediately provide arrest warrants.
Riley was a volunteer counselor at a Clarendon County camp for children of deployed soldiers or those preparing to go overseas. Riley put his hands around a boy's neck and choked him unconscious twice, authorities said. A second boy also told authorities the counselor choked him until he passed out.
The (Sumter) Item reports that parents said they contacted Clemson before reporting the assaults to Clarendon County authorities, but university officials did not return their calls.
Gouch said he was not aware parents had called the school.
The Centers for Disease Control said earlier this year that 82 children had died from the "choking game," a growing fad among youth for the euphoric, dreamlike feeling that people get as blood rushes back to the brain.
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