Posted on 06/09/2005 10:45:01 AM PDT by BansheeBill
Angry dad takes son's bullying teammate to court: Archbishop Williams athlete urinated on member of hockey team
By JOE McGEE
The Patriot Ledger
It was a particularly ugly form of teenaged bullying.
A hockey star at Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree has admitted in court that he urinated on a younger, smaller teammate.
The victim, a 15-year-old sophomore, later withdrew from the school. His father said teammates and other students harassed the boy after he complained about what happened.
The family pursued criminal charges against the older boy, 17-year-old Michael Owens of South Boston, because they were dissatisfied with the school's response to the incident.
Hockey coach Rich Igo said he suspended Owens, a junior, for more than a week after the incident, which occurred in February at the Pilgrim Arena in Hingham. Owens was also stripped of his co-captaincy.
‘‘Nothing was blown off by any means,'' Igo said. ‘‘We took it very seriously.''
Owens admitted Monday in Hingham District Court that there were sufficient facts to convict him of assault and battery. The case was continued without a finding for one year, meaning it will likely be dropped if Owens stays out of trouble until then.
Judge Patrick Hurley ordered Owens to write an essay on what it means to be a captain. He must also perform 25 hours of community service and will be banned from sports if he taunts another player.
According to a police report, the 15-year-old was drying off after a shower when Owens cornered him and urinated on him.
The victim's father, John Erickson, said another player had done the same thing to his son after the first practice of the season.
The Patriot Ledger is not using the boy's name because of his age and the nature of the act. His father agreed to be identified.
Erickson said he heard from another parent that the player involved in the first incident was suspended for three games.
‘‘When the second incident happened he said he didn't want to play hockey any more,'' Erickson said. ‘‘He begged us not to say anything.''
But Erickson decided to report Owens. First he complained to coaches and school administrators. Erickson said they refused to discuss the matter with him and he felt ignored. That's when Erickson filed a police report. On March 7 a clerk magistrate found probable cause to charge Owens.
‘‘We would've been more than satisfied if they did something, but their attitude was, ‘We don't know.' They basically did nothing and we felt this was the only thing we could do,'' Erickson said.
The school's principal, Mary Lou Sadowski, said she is sorry the Ericksons are upset. She said the school handled the incident appropriately and has apologized to the family several times
‘‘When this happened back in February the school dealt with this immediately and swiftly and now the courts have dealt with it, too,'' she said.
‘‘We did everything we were supposed to do,'' she said.
‘‘We cannot discuss disciplinary actions, but of course (Owens) was disciplined,'' she said without elaborating.
She said she would not discuss any student's punishment with anyone but the child and parents.
Igo, head coach for the last two years, said bullying and taunting occurs in high school athletics.
‘‘I'm sure it's common,'' he said.
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletics Association has strict policies against hazing.
After Erickson came forward, he said his son was harassed by various students for being a ‘‘rat'' and a ‘‘snitch,'' according to the court records.
Embarrassed and ostracized, the boy transferred to another school.
‘‘It was pretty frustrating for us,'' Erickson said. ‘‘When he cleaned his locker out, they turned their backs to us. What's wrong with these people? Don't they understand it's just a game?''
Erickson said his son has adjusted well at his new school, but the family still wants answers from Archbishop Williams officials. They filed a complaint with the Archdiocese of Boston's office of pastoral support and outreach, but he said they have not received a response.
Erickson said facing a judge was a tough lesson for Owens.
‘‘I feel for the Owenses,'' he said. ‘‘I think they're good people and I shook all their hands (after court) and told him, ‘Michael, you might not realize this now, but this might be a good thing for you.'''
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I don't know if urinating on someone qualifies as battery, but most definitely, the 17-year old punk should have faced some criminal charges. One year "suspended" doesn't sound like much.
I would consider this criminal sexual assault.
Dirtbag should be expelled, he should get sentenced, and he should be put on a permanent watch list, because only a violent sexual deviant would get their kicks from such behavior.
I remember this happening at my catholic high school. The only thing that talked were fists later on in the week. Now it's "lets sue" And you see that as the catholic school's fault?
As would I.
I would have rather gotten even. I played hockey for 30 years and practice was always a good opportunity to get even.
The punk deserved a good butt kicking, but if the victim had laid a finger on him, he would have been expelled.
Catholic schools should expel students for egregiously immoral behavior - a Catholic high school in the Boston area should be especially reactive to homo assaults like this one.
He should have been expelled and serve time in a correctional facility. You only get expelled if you have something like a picture of a pocket knife in your car.
Exactly.
Right on. This is a sex-offender -- in the making.
Who know what would have happened if he would have brought a butter knife to school.
Maybe for a big 17-year-old vs. a small 15-year-old.
I think that's harsh enough for the school's response. His parents should have added much harsher, though.
He should be sentence to sleeping with Lorena Bobbit for 30 days.
"Two Brick" counselling works.
I was bullied, assaulted and harassed all throughout school. There were several reasons, I was poor, white and Christian. My race became a major issue when I was in High School.
I'm not bullied anymore thanks to my Smith & Wesson.
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