High-School Coach Ignored Boys Screams as Teammates Raped Him, Lawsuit Claims

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Daily Beast

‘SANCTIONED RITUALS’

A second family is suing a Texas school district, claiming their minor athlete son was raped more than 30 times during sports team events—and the coaches did nothing to stop it.

OLIVIA MESSER
02.09.18 10:07 AM ET

La Vernia, Texas—population 1,200—has struggled to emerge from a cloud that covered the sports-obsessed town after rape allegations involving its most gifted athletes went public almost one year ago.

Now, a new family has filed a lawsuit against the school district, claiming that a La Vernia coach witnessed and ignored two violent sexual assaults suffered by their son while he was on its basketball team.

The complaint alleges that a boy, listed as John Doe, was sexually assaulted more than 30 times between October 2016 and February 2017 in the La Vernia High School locker room, a shower at the school, during basketball practice, at other schools’ gyms, before and after basketball games, and after team dinners at other families’ homes.

All the while, according to the documents, Doe says he was threatened by teammates between assaults that they were “going to get you.”

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/high-school-coach-ignored-boys-screams-as-teammates-raped-him-lawsuit-claims

[knightmaar]

1. What kind of a crap situation was this kid in ...

... that he had no choice but to continually return to a place where he's getting sexually abused?

[Ohiogal]

2. Just sickening

Whatever possesses evil bullies like these to destroy an innocent boy's life?

They should be locked up and that coach should be jailed, too. Shut down the entire sports program at that school indefinitely.

As the mother of 3 sons, I just can't wrap my mind around evil like this.

[AllyCat]

8. Exactly. Shut them down.

I feel sorry for the kids missing out on sports, but if the alternative is abuse and assault, so be it. Maybe the school district can pay fees for club sports for all interested students.

[ailsagirl]

15. +1,000,000,000

[iluvtennis]

23. +2,000,000,000

[ailsagirl]

38. At LEAST!!!!!!

[dalton99a]

3. La Vernia - Helluva sign

[pandr32]

4. How outrageous

Our children do not deserve to be abused. Heads need to roll on this and those poor victims are going to need a whole lot of help going forward.

[They_Live]

5. Apparently we need to keep boys

out of the boys locker rooms and showers.

[keithbvadu2]

27. Shades of Dennis Hastert

[Angry Dragon]

6. just a bunch of shit

[AllyCat]

7. What in the entire hell is wrong with people???

This is horrible! Not one person came to this kid’s defense?

[Aristus]

9. Sports. Texas.

That's the only explanation anyone needs.

[yuiyoshida]

25. You forgot one....

"In the age of TRUMP'" ... THAT'S IT IN A NUT SHELL

[MarcA]

42. Unfortunately there's more - just google La Vernia

Mind you this in a town with about 1,200 population and some more
in the countryside. In the last decade school staff suicide, drug deals,
resisting arrest, parents abused. But they get a pass because this is
good ole rural folk that voted 70+ % for that man of virtues. It's the
city folk that are bad, well, at least to an online joke of a news source
called the La Vernia News. And all this just 10 miles north of
Sutherland Springs. Yes sir, no Chicago gun war here lol.

[Pachamama]

10. No words....

[backtoblue]

40. Me neither

[Honeycombe8]

11. Something odd about this story. 30 times?

No, I don't think anyone would return to the same place or with the same group after being repeatedly raped. There must be more to the story. A few times, maybe. There's something more to this story, IMO. It doesn't make sense.

[RKP5637]

14. The city only has a population of 1,200. Maybe they felt trapped, embarrassed, all

sorts of things. Maybe the Jocks are worshiped and they hoped it would go away. Yeah, but 30 times ... I hope they get the punishment due them.

[lunasun]

32. Nothing odd at all . Look at all those gymnasts recently repeatedly abused by that doctor

He is young and doesn't realize enough to be able to admit it's happening to adults ,outlier afraid of the whole town , afraid of the boys who they story said they would get him or forced to games by parents who demanded he return after asking to stop ( one of the gymnast forced herself to have an accident in the tub , so her parents couldn't force her to a meet the doctor was at and her parents didn't believe her)
Fooled more than once into a situation by a group that gang raped him .how many in the gang ? How many rapes each time ? 30 could happen easily in those three months

[Honeycombe8]

41. That's not the same thing, though.

This apparently was a hazing situation that was repeated a lot. For basketball. Outright forcible rape. The girls were children and were not raped with genitals...he did a finger digit thing under the guise of it being "an adjustment" related to their body functioning for the sport. Some parents even knew. Even so...a couple of the girls DID report it.

The boys did not have to join the team, is my understanding. This wasn't regular phys ed. This was a team thing where they choose to join.

This is returning to something over and over again, to be with a group of guys who you KNOW is going to rape you again, and again. No one reports it. No one tells a parent.

If you belonged to a sport team, where you got raped most times you showed up, would you keep going back? (whether you told or not)

This is a small town of 1,200. I grew up in a town of maybe 1,000 to 1,500. There is little that goes on in small towns like that, that others don't know about. Word gets around.

But maybe so. Just odd. I think something is left out of the story.

[Drahthaardogs]

12. If this were my son, I would be inclined to do violence

I know that's really bad, but this is pure evil.

[RKP5637]

13. Creepy: Mugshots: La Vernia athletics hazing scandal arrests climb to 13

Last edited Fri Feb 9, 2018, 06:35 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/crime/article/3-more-students-arrested-La-Vernia-hazing-scandal-11068363.php

[SunSeeker]

19. Wow. Unspeakable evil...

Colton Weidner, 18, Christian Roberts, 18, and John Rutkowski, 18, were arrested Tuesday on a charge of second-degree felony sexual assault, bringing the total number of arrests to 13.

According to the complaint filed by Texas Ranger Joel Kite, the three and an unnamed juvenile attacked a 15-year-old in February at a home near La Vernia, sodomizing him with a flashlight. The youth cried out and struggled, but he was overpowered and couldn’t stop the assault, the complaint alleges. Weidner, Roberts and Rutkowski are all seniors who play basketball.

[keithbvadu2]

30. Most of them adults now. Adults when they molested a minor?

Depends when in 2017 they did it.

That might strongly affect the charges.

[MarcA]

37. Regardless of legalities, it is still Child Abuse n/t

[lunasun]

34. For several years what ? The OP mentions one person , one sport season. Is this a tradition?

LA VERNIA — Three more students from La Vernia High School have been arrested in connection with a hazing scandal that officials say has involved three of the school’s athletic programs for several years.
Colton Weidner, 18, Christian Roberts, 18, and John Rutkowski, 18, were arrested Tuesday on a charge of second-degree felony sexual assault, bringing the total number of arrests to 13.

[smirkymonkey]

36. Sick, disgusting fucks!

I hope they suffer dearly for what they have done to this poor boy. What is wrong with young people these days? So much cruelty and hatred. I weep for the future.

[dawg day]

16. It's apparently a thing--

The older boys do this to the younger ones, and the coaches ignore it because they think it makes the victims tougher or some thing. It happened in an expensive suburb of my town. The victim was a minority, btw. A broom handle was involved.

It's hard even to imagine a coach-- a teacher-- would condone this. But... well, Denny Hastert was a high school coach.

[SunSeeker]

20. The Hastert Rule? nt

[lunasun]

33. I was wondering that too . Was it a minority student? We won't know and shouldn't

Besides rape, I believe when they use broom handles etc. they are obviously looking for tortuous injuries to happen

[Nitram]

17. Sounds like Texas.

[IronLionZion]

18. "targeted at least 10 victims and spanned more than three years"

"Ultimately, police found that the alleged abuse—perpetrated by players on the high school’s baseball, football, and basketball teams"

There is something sick about the culture of that town. I've played sports and I assure you sexual assault was NOT a part of soccer or swimming and I hope it wasn't part of any of the other sports in my town.

I fail to see how any of this behavior makes someone "tougher" or supports "team-building" or whatever. It's just wrong and criminal.

[kimbutgar]

21. So some of these guys are closeted gays?

How many straight guys do this? A Christian so called community is ok with this? What is wrong with these people and the school staff?

[forgotmylogin]

22. I don't know the perpetrators' actual orientations, but...

rape in some cases is often more about power than it is about gratification.

Probably in their minds, it's a hilarious and devastatingly effective way to humiliate someone weaker or younger than them.

Random side fact: back during Roman times, same-sex sodomy was relatively commonplace (just considered "taking care of business with whomever was available" I suppose), and the "top" was not culturally considered homosexual so long as they were never in the submissive role.

[dawg day]

24. And for maximum injury, they often use an instrument

It's about inflicting humiliation and pain.

[RKP5637]

29. Yep, agree, it's more about sadistic activities, humiliation and pain than sexual orientation IMO.

If it were just about sex, I don't think those instruments would be used IMO. Those are acts of brutality, control and power over another.

[DBoon]

26. rape is *always* about power

If gratification were the goal, masturbation would be the result, not rape

[lunasun]

35. Probably none are gay.

[moriah]

44. It doesn't take being gay to have a sick need to humiliate and show your power over someone.

And when a person has that sick need, the usual target is one of opportunity. The perceived sexual attraction of a victim has little to do with what makes a person get off from rape or sexual assault.

[yardwork]

46. This has nothing to do with being gay. Your post is deeply offensive.

[radicalliberal]

28. This is machismo in action.

Something that all the defenders of hazing can be proud of.

[janterry]

31. So, the perp's had this done to them, too

during their initiation onto the team?

Wow. And the school never heard a hint of a problem??

[MarcA]

39. Authoritarian institutional culture of abuse/bullying

Sadly, prevalent in many places.

[Kaleva]

43. Something similiar was a ritual in the Navy

Newbies would be greased. Tamer versions would consist of the victim having his butt crack smeared with grease which was often times mixed with coffee grounds. Some got the business end of a grease gun inserted into their rectum and they were pumped up. This practice was more common amongst the snipes and deck apes but occasionally twidgets would do this to one of their own.

[burrowowl]

45. May they all get prison sentences!

including parents in whose homes the raping, hazing took place,