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Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of rape or sexual assault that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can find help and discreet resources on the National Sexual Assault Hotline website or by calling 1-800-656-4673.
() A family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against an Ohio high school, alleging the school overlooked a culture of hazing that included the creation and sharing of child sexual abuse material.
The lawsuit has been filed against Ursuline High School in Youngstown, Ohio, and specifically names school administrators, football coaches and 11 football players and their parents as defendants.
The complaint includes a number of incidents from a nine-day football camp trip through Florida, Tennessee and Alabama in June of 2025, where alleged hazing events took place.
According to the complaint, the family’s son, who is not identified in the document, was violently assaulted by a group of players who held him down, stripped him and humiliated him.
The complaint also alleges that one of the players sexually assaulted the son while others recorded it and posted it to the team’s group Snapchat, where it was later shared with other students and members of the community.
The son allegedly hid in a closet to avoid the “initiation” but was pulled out by other players.
In another incident, the complaint says players forced their way into a bathroom where the son was hiding and attempted to strip him, an incident which stopped when someone said the coaches were in the hallway.
A third alleged incident included a player luring the son to a room where he was once again attacked and had his pants and underwear removed and was assaulted.
The complaint says the incidents were recorded and posted to a group Snapchat where they were later shared with others.
Other alleged hazing incidents are also included in the complaint, which the plaintiffs say were openly discussed in front of coaches.
When the mother attempted to bring the hazing to the attention of the school, she says that she was dismissed and told “boys will be boys” by coaches, and she says administrators failed to take action.
The family also said their daughter was forced to transfer schools due to intimidation from football players.
The complaint accuses the school and staff of failing to address hazing and taking steps to cover it up. The family also says the school hired football coaches with a history of misconduct.
The lawsuit is bringing the claim under Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination and sexual harassment. Various defendants are accused of criminal acts, including criminal hazing, assault, sexual assault, aggravated assault, battery, kidnapping, false imprisonment, stalking, child pornography, sexual cyberharasssment, distributing lewd and obscene materials, telecommunications harassment and witness/victim intimidation.
The high school told a local media outlet it had no comment on the lawsuit. affiliate WKBN reported that the local Catholic diocese, which oversees the school, also had no comment.
For continuing coverage of this case, visit WKBN.