Greater Latrobe School District, former wrestling coaches sued in federal court over hazing allegations

A student and his parents sued the Greater Latrobe School District, two former wrestling coaches and two students, alleging that the boy was assaulted during practice.

It is, at least, the second lawsuit filed stemming from allegations of hazing by members of the wrestling team that came to light in January 2020.

The coaches were fired and charged criminally. A Westmoreland County judge last week found former coach Cary Lydic not guilty of endangering students and failing to report potential child abuse following a nonjury trial.

David F. Galando, an assistant coach, entered the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program in October. He was ordered to serve two years probation.

Messages left with the district and Galando’s attorney were not immediately returned.

Lydic’s attorney, Casey White, said the claim against his client is meritless.

“As the court could clearly see at trial, the claims that he failed to report any purported nefarious activities was unfounded,” White said.

Four students, all 15-year-old boys who were members of the wrestling team, were prosecuted in juvenile court, where proceedings are held outside of public view.

According to the lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court, the student — identified only by initials — said he joined the junior varsity wrestling program his freshman year.

Shortly before the 2019-20 season began, he saw several acts of hazing by older members of the team, including one, who would hit or smack younger teammates with a wooden stick kept near the practice gym, the complaint said.

The lawsuit alleges that the boy was first attacked with the stick in December 2019, when he was struck in the back of the leg.

Then, according to the complaint, on Jan. 8, 2020, the student arrived for practice and was sitting on the floor putting on his shoes when he was tackled and pinned down by three teammates. The students then got rope and bound his hands and feet. They got the stick, struck the boy several times on the back of the legs and then rammed it into the boy’s buttocks five times through his shorts, the complaint said.

The attacked ended when the boy freed himself from the rope and pushed the other boys off.

It was then that Galando appeared, the lawsuit said. None of the boys admitted to what was happening. The boy who was attacked “was unable to verbalize what just occurred,” the complaint said.

White, the attorney who represents Lydic, said the boy testified at Lydic’s trial and said he was an active participant in “horseplay.”

The investigation into allegations of hazing within the wrestling team began in January 2020, and state police said surveillance video showed instances of assault. Police said that Lydic and Galando could be seen in videos while the assaults occurred, and neither man reported the situation to school officials or ChildLine, the Pennsylvania hotline to report suspected child abuse.

The lawsuit accuses both coaches of being “manifestly negligent in their supervision of the minor students entrusted to their care by their unknowing parents” and for failing to report the assaults.

“They created a climate of fear and intimidation, and a team culture of betrayal from coaches who should be their mentors and protects, and older students who should be their leaders and role models,” the lawsuit said.

It also alleges negligence against the district for failing to have an anti-hazing policy in place, or for failing to enforce it.

The lawsuit said that Lydic and Galando were both aware of the hazing and the existence and location of the wooden stick.

“Defendant Lydic, after witnessing one of the hazing incidents, told the offending student to be careful of the cameras located near the practice gym,” the complaint said.

The lawsuit also includes a claim against the school district for creating a “state-related danger,” and for leaving 15 ninth-grade wrestlers unsupervised for 45 minutes on every practice day. There are additional claims for assault and battery against Lydic, Galando and the two students who allegedly assaulted the boy, as well as another for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

White said he is not surprised the district is a named defendant in the lawsuit.

“The district was derelict in their duties as to their supervision of those student-athletes,” he said. “Parents of all students need to hold them accountable.”