Two families in southwest suburban Plainfield who claim their sons were sexually assaulted with a broomstick in the locker room by varsity football players at Plainfield Central High School, have filed suit against their school district, saying they are seeking to put an end to the alleged culture of brutal bullying, hazing and assault.
On Aug. 23, attorneys Antonio M. Romanucci, Bhavani K. Raveendran and Ian P. Fallon, of the firm of Romanucci & Blandin, of Chicago, filed a complaint in Chicago federal court against Plainfield School District 202 and several District 202 employees, on behalf of the couples, identified only as John and Jane Doe A and John and Jane Doe B, and their respective male children.
The children are students at Plainfield Central High School.
According to the complaint, the children, identified only as Doe Child A and Doe Child B, were freshman students at the high school in 2019-2020, and joined the football program, earning spots on the freshman football squad.
The complaint centers on the so-called “Code Blue” hazing ritual within the football program.
According to the complaint, under “Code Blue,” upperclassmen members of the varsity football program would barge into the locker room while the freshman team members are showering. At that point, the varsity players would single out at least one freshman team member, and call a “Code Blue.”
According to the complaint, the freshman then is given the choice to either shove a broomstick “between and through their buttocks resulting in penetration,” or be held down and be sexually assaulted by a member of the varsity team, who would perform the action by force.
The complaint also noted other freshman players have been subjected to humiliation and assault in other manners, including being forced “to strip and allow themselves to be covered in soap and beaten up in the locker room shower with the water running.”
According to the complaint, the “Code Blue” ritual dates back to at least 2014, and has become “widespread throughout the football program.”
“’Code Blue’ is considered a team bonding exercise and a rite of passage on the Plainfield Central Football Team … meant to make freshman members feel like a part of the team,” the complaint said. “… Former survivors and victims of these sexual assaults are pressured into accepting these sexual assaults as an essential team bonding exercise.”
According to the complaint, varsity team members entrapped, restrained and sexually assaulted the two Doe Children following a practice in October 2019, allegedly going so far as to pull one of the freshman students down from on top of a locker to the floor.
According to the complaint, the assaulted students reported the incident to school administration, and their parents learned of the alleged attacks, later that same day.
While school administrators held a meeting with the parents and took reports, the complaint asserts no further meaningful action was taken, either against the students who allegedly committed the assaults, nor to end the “Code Blue” hazing rituals within the program.
Further, the complaint asserts, the two Doe students have since become the target of widespread harassment and bullying within the school and in the community. And, the complaint accused the Plainfield School District of refusing to grant permission for their students to transfer to another school or play sports elsewhere.
In addition to District 202, the complaint levels claims against football coaches Jon Pereiro, Michael Moderhack and Vincent Vasquez, saying the football coaches are well aware of the “Code Blue” rituals, allegedly repeated regularly in the high school’s football locker rooms, yet have done nothing to stop it.
“The subject hazing rituals and traditions are a form of bullying and have been part of the culture of the Plainfield Central High School Football Team for years,” the complaint said. “The teams’ coaches have sanctioned these rituals.
“Indeed, the Plaintiffs are but a fraction of the students who have been physically and sexually assaulted pursuant to this hazing ritual.”
The complaint seeks damages of at least $50,000 for each family from District 202, and $75,000 each from the football coaches. They are also seeking court orders requiring the school district to implement new policies and programs to put an end to the practices and train staff and students against such bullying, hazing and assault in the future.