The parents of a 16-year-old who was allegedly beaten by four former football teammates at a house party last October in Winnebago have had enough.
Dale and Tonya Hurley hope to be moving their family to Nebraska soon, where he has found another job.
“It’s breaking our hearts to leave,” he says. “We’ve spent a lot of nights with tears in our eyes trying to figure out what to do.”
“I’m mad. My kids are going to have to leave, this is their home,” he adds. “This is where we planned to live and stay for a long time.”
Five years ago, the Hurleys moved to Blue Earth so they could be closer to her family.
Since the four teens have been charged with third-degree assault and/or aiding and abetting assault, Hurley says he and his son have had to deal with intimidation.
“It’s not the whole town that’s at fault. It’s just a few. There are a whole lot of good people that we have built relationships with.” he says. “But, our family has been torn apart. It’s been a debacle.”
For the Hurleys, working at their jobs has been difficult at times.
At one point, Tonya Hurley took a leave of absence from her job as a paraprofessional at Blue Earth Area middle school.
And, it hasn’t been easy for Dale Hurley either. The house party where his son was allegedly assaulted took place at the home of his boss.
Hurley says his last day on the job will be this Wednesday and although they will be leaving the area, he’s going to make sure those charged with beating his son are held responsible.“We’re not going to walk away from this,” he says. “We’re going to see that everyone is prosecuted to the fullest of the law.”