When a School Trip Becomes a Nine-Day Nightmare: Protecting Your Son After Ursuline High School Hazing
When you send your son on a school-sanctioned football camp trip, you are trusting the coaches and administrators to act as his guardians. You are trusting the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown to vet the men they put in charge of your child. When that trust is shattered by nine days of physical violence, sexual assault, and the recording of child pornography, the betrayal is absolute.
If your son was one of the victims on the Ursuline High School trip through Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee, you are facing an institutional machine built to protect a football program’s reputation over your child’s safety. We know how these institutions work. We know how they use the “boys being boys” excuse to hide criminal conduct. Most of all, we know how to hold them accountable.
At Attorney911, we are a trial firm that handles catastrophic child injury lawsuits and sexual assault cases. Our team, led by Ralph Manginello and Lupe Peña, focuses on breaking the culture of silence that protects predators and negligent administrators. We don’t just look at the individual assailants; we look at the decisions made by the Diocese and the school that allowed these attacks to occur daily for over a week.
Institutional Liability: Why the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown Is Responsible
A lawsuit of this magnitude is not just about the twelve players alleged to have committed the assaults. It is about a failure of leadership that reaches the highest levels of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown. Under the law, an institution can be held responsible for the acts of its employees when it fails to supervise them or when it hires people with a known history of misconduct.
The allegations against Ursuline High School suggest a systemic failure in vetting:
* Negligent Hiring: Head coach Dan Reardon previously resigned under a “cloud of negativity” and was rehired despite a Diocesan recommendation against it.
* Negligent Retention: Assistant coach Timothy McGlynn allegedly resigned from a prior position amid claims of physical abuse.
* Failure to Supervise: The assaults didn’t happen once; they reportedly happened daily over a nine-day trip spanning three states.
When a school rehires a coach with a history of dishonesty or ignores red flags of physical abuse, it isn’t just a mistake—it is a conscious disregard for student safety. In Ohio, the law provides a way to reach the deep pockets of the Diocese to ensure that your child’s brain injuries and psychological trauma are fully compensated.
Title IX Rights and the Duty of School Administrators
Every school that receives federal funding is bound by Title IX. This federal law requires schools to respond immediately and equitably to reports of sexual harassment and assault. It creates a hostile educational environment when a school trip becomes a hunting ground for bullies and predators.
The actions of Principal Matthew Sammartino and Assistant Principal Margaret Damore are central to this case. Allegations of deleting social media posts and instructing students to remain silent are not just a failure of character; they are a direct violation of their duties as mandated reporters.
“Ohio Revised Code 2151.421 mandates that school officials and coaches report suspected child abuse to law enforcement immediately.”
A cover-up doesn’t just hide the truth; it makes the injury worse. It tells the victim that their pain is less important than the team’s win-loss record. We use federal regulations to prove that the school’s response was a radical departure from the standard of care required to protect children.
The Evidence Clock: Why Digital Forensics and Personnel Files Cannot Wait
The most critical proof in this case is digital. The assaults were reportedly recorded and shared on Snapchat. While these posts are designed to disappear, they often leave a forensic trail on servers or the devices of the 25+ players present on the trip.
The clock is ticking on four critical sets of records:
1. Snapchat Digital Forensics: We must move to identify every student who viewed or disseminated the videos.
2. Personnel Files: The hiring records for Reardon and McGlynn will prove exactly what the Diocese knew about their “cloud of negativity” before they were put in charge of your son.
3. Communication Logs: The texts and emails between administrators will reveal the timeline of the alleged cover-up.
4. Trip Itineraries: These logs will show where the adult supervisors were (or weren’t) when the daily attacks occurred.
If you wait, these records can be “lost” or deleted. We work until the evidence is frozen, sending spoliation letters that make it a legal nightmare for the school if they destroy proof. If your family is seeking a wrongful death claim lawyer or a team to handle a catastrophic injury, the first step is always the same: lock down the truth.
The Insurance-Defense Playbook: Three Tactics They Use to Silence Families
When you take on an institution like the Diocese or a powerful high school football program, their insurance-defense team will use a specific set of plays to devalue your son’s experience. You need to know these counters before they run them.
- The “Consensual Hazing” Trap: The defense will try to frame the violence as a “team-building” ritual that the players agreed to. The Counter: Under the law, a minor cannot “consent” to physical or sexual assault. Hazing is a crime, not a defense.
- The “Boys Being Boys” Minimization: As alleged in the lawsuit, coaches may downplay the events as rowdy behavior. The Counter: This is an admission of gross negligence. Coaches are paid to supervise, not to dismiss criminal acts as part of a culture.
- The “Outside Grounds” Dodge: They may argue the school isn’t liable because the events happened in Florida, Alabama, or Tennessee—not on campus. The Counter: This was a school-sanctioned trip. The school’s duty of care traveled with every player and coach across every state line.
Case Value: Seeking Compensation for a Lifetime of Trauma
The damage from a sexual assault and the dissemination of child pornography is not something that heals with a few stitches. It is a lifetime injury. We estimate the case value for an incident of this severity to range from $3,000,000 to $15,000,000+.
This range accounts for:
* Economic Damages: Years of psychological counseling, medical treatment, and the potential cost of relocating to a safe educational environment.
* Non-Economic Damages: The profound emotional trauma, loss of reputation, and the lasting impact on your son’s ability to trust authority figures.
* Punitive Damages: In Ohio, when we can prove “actual malice”—the conscious disregard for safety shown by the re-hiring of dangerous staff and the alleged cover-up—a jury can award damages meant to punish the institution.
Past results depend on the facts of each case and do not guarantee future outcomes, but the presence of child pornography and an institutional cover-up often results in high-value verdicts because of the egregious nature of the conduct.
Who We Are: Trial Attorneys Who Fight for Families
Attorney Ralph Manginello has spent 27+ years in courtrooms, including federal court. He is a competitor who understands the pressure of high-level athletics—and he hates to see that culture used to mask abuse. Attorney Lupe Peña brings a unique edge to our firm: he is a former insurance-defense attorney. He knows exactly how the Diocese’s insurers value these claims and how they use delay tactics to wear families down. Now, he uses that insider knowledge to fight FOR you.
We serve your family fully in Spanish. Hablamos Español. Our staff is available 24/7 because we know that a legal emergency doesn’t wait for business hours.
Your Roadmap for the First 72 Hours
If your child was involved in the Ursuline hazing incident, your priority is his safety and the preservation of the case.
1. Seek Trauma-Informed Medical Care: Ensure your son has a psychological evaluation from a specialist who understands sexual trauma.
2. Preserve the Digital Trail: Do not delete any texts, social media posts, or screenshots. If you have the names of players who shared videos, write them down.
3. Refuse to Speak to School Investigators: The school’s “investigation” is built to protect the school. You have no obligation to give them a statement that their lawyers will later use to impeach your son.
4. Contact a Trial Attorney: You need a team that can file in federal court and subpoena the records the Diocese is trying to hide.
Call us at 1-888-ATTY-911 for a free consultation. We work on a contingency fee basis: 33.33% before trial and 40% if the case goes to trial. We don’t get paid unless we win your case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we sue the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown even if they weren’t at the camp?
Yes. The Diocese is the employer of the coaches and administrators. Under the theory of vicarious liability and negligent hiring, the institution is responsible for the failures of the people they put in positions of power over your child.
What is the statute of limitations for this case in Ohio?
In Ohio, the statute of limitations for civil actions involving child sexual abuse is significantly extended, often allowing victims to come forward many years later. However, because this case involves institutional negligence and Title IX violations, moving quickly is essential to preserve evidence.
What if my son was just a witness but is still traumatized?
Witnessing daily acts of violence and sexual assault can cause severe psychological harm, including PTSD. Depending on the circumstances, witnesses may have their own claims for the school’s failure to provide a safe environment.
Can the school be held responsible for what happened on a Snapchat group?
Yes. If the school sanctioned the trip and the coaches were aware (or should have been aware) of the digital harassment and dissemination of child pornography, they have a duty to intervene under Title IX.
Will my son have to testify in front of the other players?
Our goal is to protect your son’s anonymity and well-being. Most of these cases are resolved through depositions and discovery without the need for a minor to face his attackers in a traditional courtroom setting until trial, and even then, protections are available.
How much does it cost to start a lawsuit against the school?
It costs nothing upfront. We handle all costs of the investigation, forensics, and expert witnesses. We only get paid if we successfully recover money for your family.
What happens if the school claims they already “investigated” and took action?
The school’s internal investigation is not a legal finding. Often, these investigations are used to find out how much the family knows rather than to find the truth. We conduct our own independent investigation to uncover what the school tried to hide.
Is the “boys being boys” comment really a problem for the school’s defense?
Yes. In a legal sense, it is evidence of a “conscious disregard” for the victim’s safety. It proves the school had a culture that normalized abuse, which is a key element for seeking punitive damages.
Why do we need a lawyer who handles federal court cases?
The lawsuit against Ursuline and the Diocese is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. You need a team with the experience to move through the complexities of federal litigation and Title IX law.
How do we get the deleted Snapchat videos?
While Snapchat is designed to be temporary, digital forensics experts can often recover data from the sender’s or receiver’s phone or via metadata stored in the cloud. We use specialists to track the digital footprint of the assault.
Contact Attorney911 today. Let us take the burden of the fight so you can focus on your son’s recovery.
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