Freidenberg, 58, of Pickerington, was released on his own recognizance pending pre-trial conferences and a jury trial that was set for late November.
“We ended up dismissing the case without prejudice,” said city Prosecutor Steve Runge. “We couldn’t put together the witnesses as most were from out of state.”
Runge said some of the athletes and their parents were reluctant to testify for fear it might affect future opportunities to compete.
“We thought we had a good case but the resources weren’t available,” he said. “We’ll wait and see if more information comes up.”
MORE: Franklin police charge Ohio wrestling coach with hazing
Runge said that the case was dismissed without prejudice, which means charges could be re-filed against Freidenberg if additional information becomes available.
Franklin Detective David Hatfield said the logistics of getting pertinent information from one witness from southern Tennessee was a problem and agreed there was reluctance on the part of some witnesses.
In June 2018, the Ohio All Star Wrestling Team coached by Freidenberg rented the Franklin school facilities. The All Star Wrestling Team had competitors from Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana, according to Whitman.
He said the team was training in Franklin before a six- to eight-week wrestling tour on the West Coast.
During the practices in Franklin, one of the juvenile wrestlers from Cincinnati called his parents to come pick him up early. Once the family picked him up, it was found that the juvenile was a victim of a hazing incident, and the family contacted police on July 2, 2018, according to Franklin police.
The alleged incidents occurred June 16, 2018 at Franklin Community Pool and at the high school, police said.
The Franklin City School District declined a request for that organization to use the high school again in 2019 due to the pending investigations.
Freidenberg has been the Ohio AAU Wrestling Chairman since 1986 and has coached at several high schools and middle schools in central Ohio and organized dozens of tournaments. He also served as head wrestling manager at Ohio State University from 1979 to 1982. In 2006, Freidenberg was inducted into the AAU Wrestling Hall of Fame. Freidenberg remains listed as the district sports director on the Ohio AAU website.
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