Charges filed in Greater Latrobe junior high hazing incidents

Two Greater Latrobe Junior High School wrestling coaches were charged Tuesday with child endangerment and failure to report January hazing incidents that were captured on surveillance video, according to court papers.

Cary James Lydic, 29, of Greensburg was the head coach and David Francis Galando, 44, of Youngstown was his assistant, police said. The charges are misdemeanors.

Four 15-year-old boys also were charged with hazing and possessing an instrument of a crime. Two of them are facing additional stalking charges, according to police.

The investigation started in January, and troopers detailed in court papers several instances during which, they say, wrestlers were seen on surveillance video restraining their teammates and sodomizing them with what appeared to be a wooden broom handle.

Wrestlers told police the hazing was a painful and embarrassing tradition, according to court papers.

Investigators said Galando is shown on the Jan. 8 video in the school’s wrestling room while several wrestlers can be seen holding another wrestler down and tying him up with a volleyball net. After Galando leaves the room, police said, some of the boys used the stick to sodomize several teammates, a couple of whom appeared to be in pain, according to court papers.

Lydic is seen entering the room while two wrestlers hold a teammate’s legs and a third sodomizes him, police said. Similar incidents were captured on video in the following days. Several witnesses described the incidents to police and said they and a parent told Lydic about it.

Neither Lydic nor Galando reported the situation to district officials or ChildLine, investigators said.

“Juveniles continued to be victimized with the stick, causing a reasonable likelihood of bodily injury,” Trooper David Wineland wrote in the complaint. “Juveniles were assaulted multiple times, endangering their physical and psychological welfare. (I believe) the child abuse could’ve been prevented with proper supervision and if the incidents were reported.”

Two exhibition tournaments and an exhibition match were canceled as a result of the investigation. Galando and Lydic were released immediately from the school district, said superintendent Georgia Teppert.

When the district learned of the allegations, the appropriate reports were made, and school officials have worked with police throughout the investigation, she said.

“The district always puts the health, safety and welfare of our students first and foremost and did so throughout this unfortunate situation,” she said.

A message left for Galando was not immediately returned. Neither Lydic nor his attorney could be reached. No court action has been scheduled.