Lisle family sues school, saying son was sexually assaulted by baseball teammate

A boy's parents are suing Lisle Unit District 202, saying their son was sexually assaulted by a member of his Lisle High School baseball team last May while on a bus ride home from a game.

The lawsuit, filed last month in Will County circuit court, says the district took no action to stop bullying and abuse the student experienced before the attack. It also says the district did nothing to prevent the assault or address it.

"Through their actions and refusals to act," the lawsuit reads, "District 202 ... perpetuated the practice of bullying, assaulting, harassing and/or retaliating against" the student.

"They have all these anti-bullying policies and procedures, and from my perspective, they weren't followed," said the family's attorney, Jonathan J. Svitak, of the Chicago-based Shannon Law Group.

District 202 Superintendent Keith Filipiak declined to address the allegations.

"Lisle Community Unit School District 202 is not able to share additional information regarding the case at this time and will continue to follow its practice of not commenting on pending litigation," he wrote in an email.

The student, identified only as John Doe, was a member of the freshman basketball team in the fall of 2017 when teammates started hazing, abusing and bullying him, the lawsuit says.

The acts - including name-calling, threats and deliberate exclusion from team activities - "were done with the knowledge of the basketball coaching staff and in the presence of coaching staff," according to the lawsuit.

The mistreatment continued in spring 2018 when the student was on the freshman baseball team.

According to the lawsuit, the team "promoted, encouraged, fostered and tacitly acknowledged a culture of hazing, bullying, abuse and assault."

When the student was a member of the sophomore baseball team in spring 2019, two minors - identified as Doe Player 1 and Doe Player 2 - started verbally bullying and harassing him.

The lawsuit says coaches "ignored and/or downplayed the harassment, describing Doe Player 1 and Plaintiff Doe as 'an old married couple.'"

The lawsuit says the sexual assault occurred on May 3, while the student was sleeping on the team bus as it was traveling through Will County during a trip home from a game in Herscher in Kankakee County.

Doe Player 1 assaulted him with a baseball bat while Doe Player 2 recorded the attack on a smartphone and a third player observed, according to the lawsuit.

Coaches were present "and did nothing to deter" the assault, according to the lawsuit. The attack was witnessed by multiple players, the suit says.

"Following the sexual assault, Plaintiff Doe was in pain and feeling violated, humiliated and embarrassed," the suit reads. Coaches didn't address him about the assault or his well-being, the suit says.

The student told his mother what happened and his parents contacted the school's resource officer, who notified Lisle police. On the advice of police, the student was taken to a hospital emergency room.

District 202 was aware of the police investigation, according to the lawsuit.

A 15-year-old was charged with battery and sentenced to two years of court supervision, and another 15-year-old was charged with disorderly conduct and sentenced to one year of court supervision, according to the spokesman for the Will County state's attorney's office.

No players were disciplined or suspended from extracurricular activities, according to the lawsuit, and no disciplinary action was taken against the coaches.

District 202 did not provide the student with counseling or other medical or psychological services, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says the boy "continues to suffer severe mental and emotional distress, shame, embarrassment, fear, and anxiety that has resulted in permanent damage to his social and emotional well-being."

Although the lawsuit seeks $500,000 in damages, the money is not the focus, Svitak said.

"What we are focusing on is the school's failure here to follow its own policies to protect its own students," he said.