Illinois district sued by parents of athlete for hazing involving physical and sexual abuse
The Chicago Tribune reports that the parents of a Maine West High School (MWHS) student have filed suit charging school officials and soccer coaches sanctioned the hazing of the teen that included physical and sexual assault. The lawsuit contends that the student was beaten and sodomized by a group of teammates during soccer practice on September 27. The suit says they tore off his pants and underwear while holding him down on the ground and beating him.
According to the suit, two other students were hazed in a similar manner in a practice that has been going for at least three years. It also claims Principal Audrey Haugan knew or should have known about the practice but did nothing to stop it, and that two soccer coaches witnessed and allowed the alleged hazing ritual.
Six MWHS students have been charged in juvenile court with misdemeanor charges of battery and hazing, says Des Plaines police Chief William Kushner. Maine Township High School District 207 suspended several players from the boys soccer team after the alleged hazing was reported to school officials on September 28. Spokesman David Beery said the district is taking disciplinary against 10 students. But he declined to elaborate on their punishments, citing student privacy policies.
The district also has removed five coaches from the soccer team pending the conclusion of the district’s investigation. It also released a statement: “District 207 and Maine West reiterate that we take the misconduct involving the soccer team very seriously.”
Source: Chicago Tribune, 11/20/12, By Michael Holtz
[Editor's Note: In January 2012, Legal Clips summarized an article in the Eagle-Tribune, which reported that a Massachusetts superior court judge had declined to strip suspensions from the school records of two freshmen disciplined in a hazing scandal involving Andover High School basketball players.]
