Texas Firefighters Charged With Sexual Assault Make Court Appearances

At least one of the firefighters accused of sexually assaulting a fellow firefighter with a sausage at the Ellis County fire station last January was in court Tuesday morning for an arraignment.

According to local television station NBCDFW, one of the Ellis County Volunteer firefighters faced a judge this morning and others were expected to be arraigned in the afternoon.

William Hamilton Getzendaner had his charge changed from third degree felony to first degree felony for witness tampering by District Judge Bob Carroll, according to the television station.

He was one of the eight firefighters charged in a the sexual assault of Jason Waldeck, 20, a fellow firefighter.

Waldeck was also at the courthouse for the arraignment. He filed a complaint alleging his fellow volunteers assaulted him in January.

Charged in the case was the chief, the assistant chief, a lieutenant and other firefighters for their alleged participation in the attack and attempts to cover it up, according to the television station.

During the arraignment, the judge set Feb. 3 as the date for a pre-trial hearing for Getzendaner.