ASTORIA, Ore. -- The prosecutor said the assault on a young Molalla High School basketball player was not a Measure 11 sex crime, but "extremely cruel hazing."

Deputy District Attorney Ron Brown told the court five boys pulled their freshman teammate’s pants down and stuck a finger in his anus.

"I believe it was a sexual assault on the victim, because of where he suffered the injury, and because of the lasting effect it’s going to have," Brown said.

Four of the five defendants were in court, after months of negotiations and agreed to plead no contest to a lesser crime Tuesday in Astoria.

The assault took place in the back of a school bus in December 2006, when the team went to play a game in Seaside.

If convicted, the boys would have to register as sex offenders and spend years in prison. The plea deal means they’ll serve only days in jail.

The victim asked the judge to ban cameras from the courtroom and she did.

The boys, their lawyers and families declined to talk about the plea agreement, pending sentencing, set for May 12.

The plea deal says two of the defendants charged as adults, John Berokoff and Joshua Haqq, will serve 30 days in the Clatsop County Jail.

The other three juveniles will spend a week locked up. They also face a similar plea hearing next week in Deschutes County.

Parents expressed frustration, saying the incident never was a Measure 11 sex crime.

"(It was) some type of extremely cruel hazing, but none of them was alleged to be a sexual predator or abuser. And that’s why we allowed the plea to the felony charge of assault in the third degree," Brown said.

The prosecutor criticized the coaches and staff at Molalla High School, saying they did not take the incidents seriously and never reported the alleged sexual abuse of the student to police.

Molalla Hoops Players Plead No Contest To Assault