BishopAccountability.org

Lawsuit alleges sex abuse coverup by Bergen Catholic wrestling program, report says

By Matthew Stanmyre And Patrick Lanni
NJ.com
April 10, 2018

http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news/article/-326412122597274845/bergen-catholic-wrestling-coaches-accused-of-sexual-verbal-harassment-in-lawsuit/

Bergen Catholic wrestling coach Dave Bell.
Photo by Matt Smith

[with pdf]

A 12-count lawsuit filed Monday in state Superior Court in Bergen County alleges coaches from the powerhouse Bergen Catholic High wrestling team engaged in sexual and verbal harassment of at least one wrestler while the school administration conspired to keep the abuse under wraps.

News of the lawsuit was first reported by northjersey.com.

The lawsuit alleges Bergen Catholic head coach Dave Bell "inappropriately undressed with minors and watched wrestlers, including Plaintiff, change in the locker room, which they were completely nude or partially nude." It also claims assistant coach Dominick "Donnie" Spataro "showed pornographic and nude photographs of himself and others on his mobile phone to Plaintiff and other minor wrestlers, including photographs of his own nude body including his depictions of his penis."

The complaint goes on to allege that members of the Bergen Catholic administration, including the school's president, Brother Brian Walsh, principal Timothy McElhinney and athletic director Jack McGovern "knew or should have known about the harassment, abuse, intimidation and bullying of Plaintiff, especially after Plaintiff's parents raised these concerns, which were expressed both verbally and in writing, on numerous occasions."

The suit also alleges that the school never contacted authorities. It was filed on behalf of one former wrestler and up to 100 other unnamed victims.

Phone messages left for Walsh and McGovern were not immediately returned Monday night.

Northjersey.com reported that Walsh issued a statement denying any wrongdoing.

"Let's be very clear that the administration has zero tolerance for the actions alleged in this complaint — and consistent with our zero tolerance policy and protocols, despite not having been served the complaint until today, the administration reported these allegations to the Archdiocese of Newark and the Bergen County prosecutor's office when it first learned of them," said Walsh, through the school's appointed attorney, Steve Mangione, according to northjersey.com.

Sean Pena, an attorney representing Bell, called the allegations "demonstrably false" and said Bell "eagerly awaits the opportunity to be exonerated."

"Coach Bell has spent his entire personal life building his reputation and the majority of his professional life building Bergen Catholic into the best wrestling program in the country," Pena wrote in a statement. "Along the way he has treated people with respect, dignity and empathy.

"Unfortunately, in hyper competitive environments inevitably people fall short. When people fall short, far too often rather than taking accountability for their own shortcomings, they look to strike a blow at anyone they perceive is the reason for their failure. This is not the first time Coach Bell has been baselessly attacked and regrettably it's unlikely to be the last."

The lawsuit alleges a variety of inappropriate behavior by Bell, including that he stated that the wrestler was "shredded" in an apparent reference to his body and "texted and emailed Plaintiff that he loved him, as well as other highly inappropriate and sexual predatory behavior on a minor child."

Bergen Catholic’s wrestling team finished the year ranked No. 2 in the country by several wrestling publications. The historic season included the team’s seventh straight NJSIAA team title and wins over five teams ranked in the top 10 nationally. NJ.com’s Team of the Year also had three wrestlers win state titles at the individual state tournament in Atlantic City and finished No. 1 in the NJ.com Top 20 for the fifth year in a row. 

“People can say what they want to say about Coach Bell, but in the end, everyone knows how great of a man he is," said senior captain Carmen Ferrante, a three-time state medalist who will continue his career at the University of Pennsylvania. "He’s a man of great character. I love him to death, and I don’t see this ruining him. The whole Bergen Catholic community is going to be able to move past this. We have his back. We love him.”

Contact: mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com




.


Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.