Parents file lawsuit against Mohawk Area School District over alleged hazing during football camp
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (KDKA) -- The parents of a former Mohawk High School student are suing the school district and several leaders, including the superintendent.
The lawsuit claims the student was expelled for recording video of a hazing incident two years ago and subsequently punished for speaking up. The incident allegedly took place on school property during football camp.
According to the lawsuit, the alleged incident happened in August 2022. The victim was a freshman boy trying out for the high football team.
"He heard ahead of time that there was a practice of the seniors, upperclassmen, being mean to ninth graders," Al Lindsay, the victim's attorney, said. "As it turns out, he had no idea."
The lawsuit claims the boy was subjected to and forced to engage in humiliating and inappropriate sexual behavior by upperclassmen.
"Our client was taken into a storage room where he was beaten with Crocs, which are plastic shoes," Lindsay said. "And then he was forced to perform and engage in certain obscene acts with other males, including other ninth-grade football players."
Two seniors faced expulsion as a result of the matter. After an investigation, Lawrence County District Attorney Joshua Lamancusa allegedly told the family and the entire school board at a special meeting that there was no hazing regarding the incident. That's when, according to the victim's mother, things changed for her.
Not long after the victim's mother started asking questions, the boy was charged with disorderly conduct.
"The district attorney's office prosecuted him and the school started expulsion proceedings. He was taken to juvenile court by the district attorney's office where he was acquitted," Lindsay said.
The boy was kicked out of school. The reason why, according to Lindsay, was simple.
"The only possible reason they were prosecuting this kid is because his mother wouldn't shut up," he said.
And while there were more than just the two seniors allegedly involved, according to the lawsuit, no one else faced disciplinary actions.
"A lot of this was to protect the football program," Lindsay said.
KDKA-TV reached out to the school district and district attorney's office on Tuesday but did not hear back.