While a criminal plea hangs in the air for the defendants accused of hazing JV baseball players in Wilson, there is now a civil lawsuit possibly in the works as well. An attorney for two of the victims tells 7 News that he is considering suing the school district and maybe even the accused hazers.
There are at least four student victims involved in the Wilson hazing case. Three baseball players stand accused of hazing fellow teammates. Now the victims are pointing the finger at others as well.
"If you had one coach, one person in the back of that bus, this never happens," said Chris O'Brien, a partner with O'Brien & Boyd, a law firm that's been retained to represent two of the victims. He's already filed what's called a Notice of Claim in State Supreme Court, which officially notified the district that a lawsuit may follow within the next year. For the moment, the victims are waiting out the resolution of the criminal case. "Our client's rights won't be negatively impacted if we wait for the district attorney's office to complete their part of the process," said O'Brien.
Also on the table right now is a plea bargain offered by the Niagara County District Attorney to all three defendants. But defense attorney Andrew Vona is advising his 16-year-old client to reject the offer. "The offer was the same letter directed to all three defense attorneys and you always wonder if there's different levels of culpability and should the same plea be appropriate for everyone."
No matter what the outcome of the criminal case, the victims could sue the accused hazers for assault and battery in civil court as well as sue the school district on a negligence claim. O'Brien says the district was made aware of prior hazing incidents last year through parental complaints and moved one coach to the back of the bus. But last April, both coaches were seated in the front of the bus when this most recent incident took place. O'Brien said, "The one mother who contacted me... She said, 'This isn't right. This needs to change. And people need to know what really happened'."
Wilson School Superintendent Dr. Michael Wendt declined to comment for our story because its an ongoing personnel matter. The school district's attorney, Karl Kristoff, told 7 News tonight that "The district is taken aback that it could have been responsible for something that really couldn't be predicted. Going forward, the district is going to keep an eye on the bottom line which is student safety."
The baseball coaches in this case remain suspended from teaching with pay. They are charged with misdemeanor child endangerment.
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