Former Student's Family Sues Schools, Green Cove Club Over Hazing Incident
Lawsuit Cites a Pattern of Similar Assaults, Failure To Protect Students
The venue is the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court in Clay County where the school district and a for-profit wrestling club managed by a heretofore untouchable coach, are the featured entrées.
Filed on April 1st, a lawsuit alleges the district and the Green Cove Springs Wrestling Club permitted a culture of hazing, including acts that were sexual in nature. The legal action, filed by the parents of a former freshman student and victim of severe hazing, asserts the school and club did not provide “reasonable care” to protect athletes from hazing, even though they “had notice of similar incidents of hazing and/or assaults that had occurred previously on its wrestling teams and/or wrestling activities.”
Jim Reape is head coach for the Clay High School wrestling program. He is also a director of the defendant Wrestling Club and manages the club.
Although the lawsuit is available at the Clerk of Court’s office and has been posted on Facebook, Clay News & Views (CN&V for short) chose not to release the plaintiff’s’ names in deference to the minor victim.
The incident in which the student was accosted happened in September 2022 in the Clay High School wrestling locker room. The teenager, although physically injured and emotionally traumatized, was hesitant to share the news with his parents. When they discovered the abuse, the parents sought information and answers regarding the hazing.
This is how the family’s lawyers described the incident in the suit:
(Plaintiff) was physically assaulted by four male students in the Clay High School wrestling locker room. At said place and time, the four male students grabbed (Plaintiff), held him so he could not move and tried to remove his pants, ripping them. At said place and time, one of the four male students brandished a hacksaw and threatened to cut off (Plaintiff’s) penis.
A Clay High School coach entered the locker room and the students released (Plaintiff). (Plaintiff’s) ripped pants and the hacksaw were collected and placed into the Clay County District Schools Police Department evidence by reporting Officer S. C. Putman. As a result of the subject incident, (Plaintiff) suffered physical injuries to his right wrist and right arm and emotional damages including, but not limited to mental pain and suffering, including fear, embarrassment, humiliation, anger, depression, and other emotions that hinder the enjoyment of living which resulted from the accident and its aftermath.
According to the lawsuit, the victim has incurred medical expenses and continues to do so. The lawsuit seeks reimbursement of costs and damages as determined by a jury trial.
Believing that school officials had not been forthcoming with them, the family continued to press for answers. The police conducted an investigation and verified the assault, plus one that had not been reported. Police identified some of the abusers. The evidence was turned over to the State Attorney’s Office, which initially authorized arrest warrants. Prosecutors then dropped the charges, stating the abusers could not be identified, even though they had been previously. The parents said a lawsuit would be the only recourse for justice and stop the culture of hazing.
After the family hired an attorney, the school district did something surprising. They hired the parents’ lawyer as the School District’s attorney. The parents were then forced to search for an attorney.
In February 2024, using confidential sources and incident reports from then-Clay County School Police, CN&V broke the story of the shocking and severe sexual, physical and emotional hazing of athletes in Clay’s public schools. Specific accounts described how wrestlers stuck brooms up freshmen’s rectums, acted out sexual assaults, then bullied students into quiet submission.
The parents finally hired Jacksonville attorney John Phillips, who has won a multitude of million-dollar suits for his clients. Phillips has and is currently representing some high-profile clients including the Kardashians. He has been featured as a legal expert and appeared in multiple documentaries and docudramas. Attorney Phillips appeared on the Netflix show Tiger Kings as his efforts to free his client “Joe Exotic,” formerly known as Joseph Maldonado-Passage was chronicled.
Susan Armstrong is an amazing journalist. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Thank you for having the courage to do what others wouldn’t. Love the CN&V squad!
Thank you guys for being one of the few willing to stand up and report the truth to our community! If they only knew what you’ve had to go through to even get this story written and out, they’d be thanking you endlessly. The culture of hiding and protecting these people is coming to an end. God willing.