A former member of the St. Joseph’s College baseball crew has filed a lawsuit towards the Lengthy Island faculty alleging that he was stripped bare, bodily assaulted and hazed by teammates throughout a crew journey in March.
The lawsuit, which was considered by The Put up, was filed on Monday in State Supreme Court docket in Suffolk County towards Patchogue-based St. Joseph’s College, head baseball coach Thomas Caputo, assistant coach Elliot Robles and 30 unidentified teammates, claiming “a sample of hazing, bullying, bodily assault, humiliation, retaliation, negligent supervision, and institutional misconduct occurring whereas Plaintiff was a member of the varsity baseball crew.”
The grievance, filed on behalf of the 18-year-old sufferer, alleges a number of eye-raising situations of hazing and a tradition that was identified to the teaching employees. The Put up is just not publicly naming the complainant as a result of nature of the allegations.
Among the many allegations was an occasion the place the plaintiff was pressured to “strip bare and stand uncovered” in entrance of his teammates whereas solely being allowed to cowl up with a plastic cup, which he declined to do “whereas different teammates succumbed.”
The lawsuit additionally alleges that in a university-sponsored journey on March 5, the previous member of the St. Joseph’s baseball crew was “forcibly attacked” by his teammates. The baseball crew’s schedule exhibits that they had been taking part in a recreation in Myrtle Seashore, SC, on the time of the alleged incident.
“Amongst different acts, teammates forcibly positioned soiled underwear on Plaintiff’s face and bodily accosted him,” the lawsuit acknowledged. “Plaintiff was humiliated, threatened, intimidated, and bodily assaulted, was positioned in worry for his bodily security, and tried to defend himself from the assault. A bodily altercation ensued.”
The lawsuit contends that satisfactory supervision was not in place throughout that March incident, regardless of insistences by Robles that room checks and supervision of the athletes would happen, in response to the lawsuit.
Court docket filings counsel that an investigation, which included Caputo and Robles participating, had corroborated the sufferer’s accounts of what occurred and that “defendants Caputo and Robles had been conscious that Plaintiff had not been the aggressor.”
Nevertheless, the defendants didn’t self-discipline the aggressors, and lawyer Mike Della, who’s representing the sufferer, informed Newsday that his consumer was the one who was suspended over the incident, whereas others escaped any self-discipline.
Della additionally informed the outlet that the sufferer was transferring colleges and will stroll away from taking part in baseball over the entire ordeal.
Monday’s lawsuit additionally alleges that this was removed from the primary occasion of something comparable, stating that Caputo had informed the plaintiff’s dad and mom in the course of the investigation that in a earlier season, gamers had tried to kick down a lodge door.
“Upon info and perception, on prior crew journeys, members of the baseball crew additionally engaged in a apply of bodily restraining and holding down teammates towards their will, and such conduct was identified inside the baseball program,” the lawsuit alleges.
In a press release to Newsday, the college stated it was conscious of the swimsuit and that, “whereas we take considerations raised by members of our neighborhood significantly, this matter is presently the topic of pending litigation.
“Out of respect for that course of, we’re not ready to touch upon the allegations,” it continued.
The lawsuit is searching for unspecified damages.
