Catholic school football players took turns assaulting 15-year-old teammate, suit says
A 15-year-old football player found the varsity locker room barricaded when he went to get changed before practice at his California high school, then was violently ambushed by his teammates, according to a new lawsuit.
The Santa Margarita Catholic High School student first heard cheers and banging from inside the locker room until the door opened after he knocked, the lawsuit filed Oct. 29 in Orange County Superior Court says.
When he walked inside Sept. 24, according to a complaint, he saw several teammates “standing suspiciously and silently” staring before one yelled: “get him!”
Then the lights went out.
The teammates tackled the teen against a locker, and onto the ground, and multiple players held him down, according to the complaint, which says others cheered, banged on lockers and shouted.
“Tragically, once pinned down and confined, several players took turns touching, yanking, grabbing, pulling and twisting his genitals,” the complaint says.
They ignored his protests, leaving him bruised and in pain, according to the complaint.
After he broke free, the complaint says he fled the locker room to get help and searched for his trainer — but was stopped by another player who told him “this is football, you knew what you were signing up for.”
The school is aware that this wasn’t an isolated incident, and at least eight other student athletes have been similarly sexually assaulted, according to the lawsuit.
The school’s principal wrote in an email obtained by the Orange County Register, which first reported the lawsuit, that at least nine student athletes have been assaulted by teammates, according to the newspaper.
“This event has really harmed him, and it is tragic to hear the specifics,” Brian Williams, a lawyer representing the student and his mother, told McClatchy News on Nov. 1.
A law enforcement investigation is pending as of Nov. 1, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
The student and his mother are suing Santa Margarita Catholic High School and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Orange, accusing both parties of negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. They’re seeking an unspecified amount in damages and demand a jury trial.
Jarryd Gonzales, the spokesperson for the Diocese of Orange, said in a statement to McClatchy News on Nov. 1 that the diocese and high school “take these allegations seriously and are committed to addressing them thoroughly and transparently.”
According to the lawsuit, the sexual assault caused the student and his mother to seek treatment for his injuries at an emergency room, resulting in the hospital alerting the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, which launched an investigation.
Gonzales said that the high school has cooperated with the investigation and “swiftly took certain personnel actions as a precautionary measure.”
The school announced Oct. 1 that the football team’s head coach, Anthony Rouzier, was put on administrative leave as an investigation into “concerning incidents within the football program” was underway, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Gonzales said that the school began an independent review after the Orange County Sheriff’s Department concluded its investigation.
Sgt. Frank Gonzalez, the sheriff department’s public information officer, confirmed in a statement to McClatchy News on Nov. 1 that an initial investigation had ended after the minor and his parent told a deputy “they did not desire prosecution and were planning to handle the incident with the help of school officials.”
As of Nov. 1, the investigation is pending after the teen and “more than 15 people connected to the school were interviewed about the same alleged incident,” Frank Gonzalez said.
It is “pending due to waiting to see if the parent of the juvenile desires prosecution,” Frank Gonzalez added.
Williams told McClatchy News that when he heard what happened to the teen, he “felt angry, especially upon learning that similar incidents had taken place involving other students.”
“This shouldn’t happen to any kid, in any sport, in any school,” Williams added.
The student is assaulted a second time at school
The day after the locker room attack, the teen spoke with his head coach, Rouzier, about the assault, according to the lawsuit, which says Rouzier asked “whether his top players were involved.”
The complaint says it became clear the coach was more concerned about “the potential ramifications for” the players instead of the teen’s safety.
The school’s football program is nationally renowned, and has repeatedly been ranked as a Top 50 team in the U.S., the lawsuit notes.
Rouzier, and the coaching staff, are accused of “carelessly” sharing what the teen privately spoke with him about to the team.
As law enforcement investigated, the teen was removed from school temporarily, the complaint says.
After he returned to school Oct. 7, he was assaulted a second time in the hallway, according to the complaint.
Three student athletes, who he didn’t know, “approached (him) from behind and groped him multiple times” in an incident captured by school surveillance cameras, the complaint says.
The teen’s mother later notified the school’s principal Cheri Wood in an email, according to the complaint, which says the principal responded by blaming her and her son.
In the email, the principal wrote that the mother “should not have rushed (her son) back to school” and revealed “at least 8 others” experienced similar assaults, the complaint says.
The teenager has been “deeply traumatized” as a result of the sexual assault, according to the complaint.
Williams said “it is time for” the school and diocese “to do more to protect student athletes.”
“The number of student athletes apparently impacted by the toxic culture within the Santa Margarita football program is truly alarming,” Williams told McClatchy News. “These are not isolated incidents involving teenage boys, but rather a product of the environment shaped by the coaching staff and administration.”
This story was originally published November 1, 2024 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Catholic school football players took turns assaulting 15-year-old teammate, suit says."
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