Parents file lawsuit against La Vernia, H.S.
Several weeks ago, the news broke of brutal, sadistic hazings that allegedly took place at La Vernia High School in Texas. GPB reported on the story in a series of reports.
Since the end of March, a whopping 13 students — seven minor and six adults — have been arrested in connection with the abuse scandal. A lawsuit has now been filed against La Vernia High School.
Ten victims are stepping forward with stories of athletic team “initiations” that included sodomy and sexual abuse with Coke and Gatorade bottles, flashlights and the threaded end of a carbon dioxide tank.
As reported in the Washington Post:
“The arrests, which raised the total to 13, came just one day after the parents of one alleged victim filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the La Vernia Independent School District and officials for enabling a “persistent ‘rape culture’” within the football program.
“The teams’ coaches have sanctioned these rituals, while other school officials, including La Vernia ISD and the School’s principal, athletic director, and coaches, turned a blind eye toward the abuse, even after the abuse was reported to them,” the lawsuit alleges.
“Indeed, the Plaintiffs are but a fraction of the students who have been physically and sexually assaulted pursuant to these sadistic hazing rituals which include rape, sodomy, unlawful sexual penetration and sexual abuse.”
More: Football players brutally forced to give oral to teammates
According to the Washington Post’s reporting, one of the victims was just 15 years old:
“Coke and Gatorade bottles, flashlights”
“The 15-year-old, identified only as Child Doe, was a freshman junior varsity football player in the fall of 2015 when, right before the playoffs, he was promoted to the varsity squad, according to the lawsuit.
Upperclassmen teammates spoke of an “initiation,” and one senior football player told him to “get ready.”
The first hazing incident, the suit alleges, occurred in the locker room before the team’s first playoff game in a border city three and a half hours south of La Vernia.
In the locker room, according to the lawsuit, Child Doe was “attacked” by three upperclassmen, shoved face down on the floor and pinned in place. Child Doe struggled to get away, but the players allegedly sexually assaulted the young player with a Gatorade G2 bottle.
The following week, school was abuzz with news of the incident and Child Doe claims that other players and classmates asked him what happened. In class, a teacher who had overheard the student talking about the assault said “it was wrong” and told the kids to “cut it out,” the lawsuit says.”
h/t: Washington Post
Photo Credit: Stock
