SPRING PARK, Minn – Four Minnesota Vikings players, including the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Daunte Culpepper, were charged Thursday with lewd and lascivious conduct during the team’s now-infamous Oct. 6 cruise on Lake Minnetonka.

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday charged Culpepper, cornerback Fred Smoot, offensive lineman Bryant McKinnie and running back Moe Williams [pictured] with three misdemeanors each – indecent conduct, disorderly conduct, and lewd and lascivious conduct. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Steven M. Tallen, the prosecutor for the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District, said the players were scheduled to appear in district court Jan. 5, four days after Minnesota’s final regular-season game, against Chicago. Tallen and the Hennepin County sheriff, Patrick D. McGowan, said the investigation remained open, and more players could be charged if additional witnesses identify them.

“People may come forward with more information,” Tallen said. “They may not. This is what we’ve got at this point.”

McGowan said Culpepper and Williams were charged with fondling women, and McKinnie and Smoot with engaging in sex acts with women. McGowan said none of the women were charged because witnesses could not identify them.

The Vikings will not take disciplinary action against the players charged until the investigation is closed and the court case is resolved, said Kevin Warren, the Vikings’ legal counsel and vice president of operations. Culpepper and Williams are out for the season with knee injuries, while McKinnie and Smoot are expected to play Sunday against Pittsburgh at the Metrodome.

Said Coach Mike Tice, “Until at any point there is a conviction of any type, if there is, I have no actions to take and nothing to say.”

Smoot declined comment, and none of the other players were available for comment at Winter Park, the Vikings’ training site in Eden Prairie, Minn. Culpepper, who is at his Florida home recovering from surgery, told ESPN that he did not touch anyone and looked forward to facing his accusers in court.

Tallen doubted the players would face jail time. “In this county, it’s very unusual for people to go to jail on a first-offense misdemeanor,” he said. “But it is a function of the level of outrage, if you will, a judge might have after a finding of guilty.”

In a news conference at Water Patrol Headquarters on the shores of Lake Minnetonka, McGowan said witnesses had identified at least 30 Vikings players among the 90 people on two cruise boats. McGowan said none of the players agreed to talk to investigators, even though Warren said he had encouraged them to cooperate.

According to the eight-page complaint, after the boats set out, the crew noticed women entering a lower restroom and emerging scantily clad or nearly naked. Six crew members, identified in the complaint only by their initials, then observed what they called “inappropriate sexual behavior” by several Vikings and the women.

The cruise was supposed to last three and a half hours. However, according to the complaint, the boat captains returned to the dock after about an hour because of the conduct of the guests.

The charter company, through an attorney, Stephen Doyle, declined comment.

Zygi Wilf, the Vikings’ owner, threatened fines and suspensions when the allegations surfaced, and the team has since issued a code of conduct for the entire organization.

In the weeks since the accusations made the Vikings a national laughingstock, the team has rebounded. After starting 2-5, the Vikings have won six consecutive games since the beginning of November with Brad Johnson at quarterback. Fan indignation has subsided with every victory, and last week Tallen joked that a member of his family asked him not to upset the winning streak.

The 8-5 Vikings trail Chicago by one game in the National Football Conference North Division, and may need to win their final three games to assure themselves a playoff spot.

“We’re a little tense; I’m a little tense,” Tice said. “We knew at some point this would come up again. I would really like to focus 100 percent on the Steelers, but that is not the real world, unfortunately.”