A student suing Santa Margarita High School said he was brutally and sexually attacked by fellow football players in a locker room.
According to the complaint, in September the 15-year-old student was “tackled, held down by several players, and subjected to a violent assault of a sexual nature.”
Afterward, the student called his mom and they went to a nearby hospital, where officials contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Department “because the source of injuries included an assault of a sexual nature.”
The next day, the victim’s mother met with the football coach who later spoke with the student. The lawsuit claims the coach did not apologize and asked for the players' names and “whether his top players were involved.”
The lawsuit went on to say the victim gave the names in confidence and that the next day, a teammate told the victim that the coach said the victim was “roughed up in the locker room.” Word of the incident reportedly spread.
The lawsuit also claimed that the principal acknowledged eight previous similar attacks.
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Brian Williams, the victim’s attorney, told KNX News’ Emily Valdez his client wants to be heard.
“Our client wants to continue towards his path towards recovery and my client wants to stand up and tell people that this type of events that happen in locker rooms is not ok and that the adults in charge need to do better,” he said.
Williams added that the coach was placed on leave and that the Orange County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident.
KNX News 97.1 FM has contacted Santa Margarita Catholic High School for comment and hasn’t heard back at the time of this publication.
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