LAWSUITS FILED ON BEHALF OF MINOR STUDENTS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED
IN DAMASCUS FOOTBALL LOCKERROOM
Today, law firms representing four minors who were victims of vicious sexual assaults occurring in the unsupervised football locker room at Damascus High School in 2017
and 2018 filed suit on their clients’ behalves. The lawsuits name as defendants the Montgomery County Board of Education, former Principal Casey Crouse, former football coaches Vincent Colbert and Eric Wallich, and former Athletic Director Joseph Doody.
Billy Murphy, Founding Partner at Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, said today, “Winning football games was more important than the safety and protection of these young boys. The Board of Education and Damascus administrators and coaches fumbled their handling
of these incidents in order to protect the brand and protect the football team’s winning streak.”
The lawsuits allege that coaches, teachers, and administrators knew about the Damascus High School tradition called “brooming” wherein sophomore football players terrorized freshmen
football players by threatening to, and at times, forcibly sodomizing the younger players with a broom. The lawsuits allege that despite notification from parents and concerned adults, officials at Damascus permitted the longstanding ritual to continue.
Tom DeGonia, a Partner at Ethridge Quinn added, “Instead of notifying victims’ parents and law enforcement as required, the administrators took it upon
themselves to investigate and interrogate the victims. Critical time was lost by their actions.”
The lawsuits further allege that Defendants failed to supervise the locker room after school and before football practice, failed to protect the victims from
attack, and failed to timely notify parents and law enforcement of the sexual assaults after they occurred. The lawsuits further allege that Defendants knew about locker room sexual assaults at Damascus and other high schools in Montgomery County prior to
the widely publicized October 31, 2018 event but were wholly indifferent to them. The lawsuits further allege Defendants knew about the violent propensities of one of the attackers, but nonetheless permitted that student to enroll at Damascus in order to further
the football team’s national prominence.
Tim Maloney, a Partner at Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A. continued, “The failures by those tasked with protecting these boys are evident. It would be a miscarriage
of justice should the responsible administrators and coaches not be held accountable for their actions.”
Anyone with information as to these and other locker room assaults are urged to call 1-800-277-0150 and report their information.
About Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, P.A.
Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, P.A. is a Baltimore-based law firm that specializes in complex litigation. Our powerhouse team has a history of unrelenting dedication
to its clients, and our team of seasoned trial lawyers has extensive experience in a variety of cases with success rates that dwarf national averages. We are dedicated to providing smart strategies and creative approaches to complex litigation. Our team is
driven and strategy-focused— characteristics that have helped us secure over $700 million for our clients. Learn more at
www.murphyfalcon.com.
About Ethridge, Quinn, Kemp, Rowan & Hartinger
Ethridge Quinn is a litigation powerhouse in Maryland and Washington D.C. We have a reputation as one of the most knowledgeable and successful firms in the state.
We walk to court every day, and our courtroom experience draws a wide variety of clients, individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, and large national corporations, searching for distinguished representation. Our attorneys maintain successful litigation
and business law practices in areas such as business litigation, family law, personal injury, criminal law, wrongful death, government investigations, appellate law, estates and trusts, and civil litigation.
www.eqlawyers.com
About Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.
Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, PA is a law firm with offices in Greenbelt and Rockville, Maryland. For more than 50 years, Joseph Greenwald and Laake has been one of Maryland’s
leading trial law firms. Its lawyers have done groundbreaking work in civil litigation, civil rights, constitutional law and business and family law litigation.
www.jgllaw.com/.
As long as the legal expenses
ReplyDeleteAre paid by the hapless taxpayer
Any change in the MCPS culture
Doen’t have either hope or prayer.