LAWRENCE COUNTY, Pa. — The Mohawk Warriors football team will be back on the gridiron Friday night after what some are calling a very lenient, two-game suspension. This comes after three 17-year-olds on the team were charged for what the district attorney calls “assault, humiliation and abuse,” on five underclassmen.
Parents, including those of the five victims, tell me their sons have been let down, and despite public statements by the Lawrence County District Attorney that no sex crimes occurred in the equipment room of the high school, the parents say otherwise. While the suspects are not in school or on the team, the victims say many of the witnesses who stood by and did nothing to stop the abuse are still on the team.
Tara Giarratano is a civil rights lawyer who handles Title IX cases for the Dyller and Solomon law firm in Philadelphia.
“Prosecutors have full discretion,” Giarratano tells Channel 11. “Whether they decide to charge something as a sexual assault, that’s not determinative of whether or not there was a sexual assault.”
She’s representing multiple victims in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, who say they were sexually assaulted in a high school football hazing case. The school district denies the sex assaults in that case.
“It’s also difficult for young boys who are athletes to talk about this,” Giarratano adds. “That’s not the typical victim of a sexual assault that we think of.”
Mohawk parents tell me not all of the victims were comfortable detailing what happened to investigators and total strangers, saying they felt shamed, violated and humiliated as freshmen.
“That’s heartbreaking and that’s often the class year we see victimized in these athletic hazing cases,” Giarratano continued.
While the Warriors resumed their season Friday night, the New Castle News wrote an opinion piece on the team, questioning if the program should return. Parents are praising the article. Editor Pete Sirianni cited failures on multiple levels, adding in part:
“The upperclassmen are supposed to be the ones who set the tone and lead. Remember, character is what you do when no one is watching.” He also wrote, “It’s quite obvious the 2022 Mohawk Warriors football team lacked leadership, character and a culture of caring for one another.”
Parents tell Channel 11 they have been meeting with the district attorney and the school superintendent, and civil lawsuits are likely coming.
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