A northwest suburban mother has sued her son's school district after the boy said he was hazed by his classmates.
The 14-year-old freshman said he was held down by older members of the soccer team at Maine West High School and sexually assaulted on the field Sept. 27 after being promoted to the varsity team, according to the lawsuit. The assault took place on school grounds during school hours, according to the suit.
The alleged incident apparently was part of a hazing ritual to initiate a group of freshman who made the varsity team. The boy's attorney said the coaches did nothing to stop the hazing, and the family said the same thing happened to two other freshman boys.
The lawsuit was filed against school officials and coaches. There's no evidence coaches watched the alleged assault happen, but the lawsuit claims they knowingly allowed hazing.
"I want my son to be safe at school," said the boy's unidentified mother, who spoke to reporters wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap. "You think when you drop off your son it's a safe place to be, but I feel like the coaches should have kept him safe on the soccer field and they didn't do that."
Six Maine West students have been charged as juveniles with battery and hazing while four other players have been disciplined by the school. Five soccer coaches have either been reassigned or removed as police continue to investigate the incident.
