Upland High baseball participant was ‘tormented’ by teammates, intercourse assault declare says

A declare looking for greater than $3 million has been filed in opposition to the Upland Unified School District after a member of the junior varsity baseball crew stated he was sexually assaulted by varsity gamers contained in the locker room as a part of rampant hazing on the crew.

The declare says that the pinnacle coach, Aldo Garbick, didn’t permit freshman and junior varsity gamers to make use of the locker room, forcing them to alter into observe garments outdoors or within the dugout. Varsity gamers would take the others’ fitness center luggage into the locker room, and when the others would try to retrieve their property, varsity gamers would “take this chance to haze, bully, harass and sexually abuse college students,” the declare says. “The varsity crew tormented the JV crew and freshman crew by hazing them.”

Garbick knew concerning the hazing and ignored it, the declare says.

The declare was filed in May for an assault that legal professional Elan Zektser stated occurred in February. The declare is a legally required precursor to a lawsuit.

On Feb. 14, the scholar submitting the declare tried to get his property out of the locker room. A varsity participant put him in a headlock and held him down, the declare says. Then one other participant simulated intercourse with him by means of clothes and a 3rd pushed a plastic pipe into his rectum space, in response to the declare.

Players visually recorded this and different assaults and shared the recordings with teammates through textual content messages, the declare says.

The hazing was reported to the varsity when a father or mother noticed one of many recordings, Zektser stated.

In a written assertion attributed to Superintendent Lynn Carmen Day, the district stated it employed an out of doors investigator who’s questioning gamers, coaches and directors.

“Our district leaders are taking this example very critically,” the assertion stated. “The district will proceed to take acceptable disciplinary actions as mandatory.”

Day didn’t reply to questions from a reporter that aren’t answered within the assertion, corresponding to when and the way the varsity or district realized of the allegations, whether or not it complied with state legal guidelines on mandated reporting of suspected sexual abuse and what Garbick’s standing is.

Upland High athletic director Bo Whieldon did say that he’s in search of a brand new baseball teaching workers; the district jobs webpage lists openings for varsity head and assistant coaches, junior varsity coach and freshman coach.

A reporter referred to as Garbick’s residence to offer a chance for him to talk on his personal behalf. The one who answered the telephone didn’t establish himself and referred the reporter to the district.

Sgt. Jacob Kirk, a spokesman for the Upland Police Department, stated detectives investigated the assault and didn’t make any arrests. Kirk stated the division is now deferring to the district investigation.

The district has 45 days from the date of receipt to just accept or reject the declare.

Staff Writer Pete Marshall contributed to this story.