FBI probes tapes of Penn wrestlers

Hidden-camera pictures of undressing athletes are offered by a Web site. The "Young Studs" on Penn's wrestling team are getting more than their fair share of public exposure -- but most of it is uninvited. Several members of the team -- which was ranked No. 11 in the country this year -- are the subjects of pornographic hidden video tapes and pictures that are posted and for sale on a World Wide Web site. The tapes were apparently made both on campus and at a national competition in Chicago, according to University spokesperson Ken Wildes. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is currently reviewing the tapes of Penn athletes and other videos taken during a national collegiate wrestling tournament held at Northwestern University in 1995 and put on the Internet by a company called YoungStuds. According to several newspapers, including The Chicago Tribune, the hidden cameras were concealed under towels and in gym bags. One video camera was still running when it was found by a wrestler at the Midlands Wrestling Championship who turned it over to a Northwestern Athletic Department official. Penn officials found out about the videos a year ago when an athlete at the University of Memphis discovered a video featuring members of the Penn team and sent it to one of the team members, Wildes said. University Police conducted an investigation at that time to find out who was responsible for the videos -- some of which feature Hutchinson Gymnasium locker rooms as a backdrop, Wildes said. "The investigation was inconclusive, but even if we had identified someone? there was no law in the book that would have permitted us to press charges [at that time]," Wildes said. He added that the University "would move very quickly if we could [hope] to receive some semblance of retribution." Linda Vizi, spokesperson for the Philadelphia branch of the FBI, said Chicago FBI agents and the United States Attorney's office in Chicago "are reviewing the material to see if there appears to be any violation of federal statutes, which are investigated by the FBI." Penn Wrestling coach Roger Reina declined to comment. There are at least two videos and more than 40 pictures -- which are posted on-line. The site contains several categories of pornographic pictures, including a section labeled "Young studs hidden camera," where the wrestling pictures are posted. One wrestler, who asked to remain anonymous, said that after the "older guys" on the team told him about the Web site last semester, he "wanted to check it out, so I subscribed to the site." He said he was able to identify several Penn wrestlers in the more than 40 "hidden camera" shots of the team on the site. Although he said he had a hard time making out the faces in the pictures, he recognized several of his teammates by their tattoos. The Northwestern official who had the Midlands tape did some initial investigating but did not turn it over to authorities. He contacted Penn once he found out that there were others. Wildes said the University has made no changes that he is aware of to prevent another hidden camera from being placed in the men's locker room because "this is not something that happens every day." Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Will Ulrich contributed to this story.