High school soccer coach 'watched boy being sodomized by players then congratulated victim' during hazing ritual
Michael Zennie and Louise Boyle
Head coach Michael Divincenzo investigated and six students facing juvenile court
Three freshman players allegedly sexually assaulted by teammates at Maine West High School in Des Plaines, Illinois
A soccer coach witnessed a teenage boy being sodomized by teammates then congratulated the victim, asking 'if it was all good', it has been claimed.
The new allegations on Wednesday concern an incident in July involving coach Michael Divincenzo, known to students as 'Divo', who reportedly told older players to assault freshmen.
The fresh claim came to light after three boys were allegedly sexually assaulted in a hazing ritual at Maine West High School in Des Plaines, Illinois on September 27.
It has been alleged that three boys were shoved to the ground and beaten by the older members of the varsity team.
The players then held them down, pulled down their pants, tore off their underwear and sodomized each of them.
The coaches supported the hazing ritual, by ordering a 'campus run' after the three freshman made the senior team, the Daily Herald reported.
Divincenzo, two coaches who are also teachers at theschool and varsity coach Emilo Rodriguez, have been transferred with pay, pending the outcome of a school district investigation.
Three other coaches have been fired. A Des Plaines police investigation of the incident led to six students being sent to juvenile court to face hazing charges.
Ordeal: Three teenage boys were allegedly sodomized by older teammates at Maine West High School in Des Plaines, Illinois on September 27
The school district said it has disciplined ten students.
Several parents told police that they didn't want the alleged assaults of their sons investigated, according to the Sun-Times.
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Antonio Romanucci, the attorney who filed a lawsuit on behalf of three students and their parents, said the hazing practice has taken place at the school for the last four years.
'That behavior, in today's society, is disgusting,' he said. 'It should never be condoned. It should never have happened.'
The school is investigating this year's assault allegations and another in 2008 involving a teenage baseball player at Maine West.
Furious: The mother of an alleged victim, wearing a hat and sunglasses to protect her child's anonymity, said she expected coaches to have kept her child safe
In the incident four years ago, a freshman's pants were allegedly pulled down in the locker room. However his mother said when she originally reported the assault, the school did nothing.
Last week, the mother of the alleged victim, who is suing the school, appeared at a press conference wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap pulled low across her face to hide her identity and protect the anonymity of her son. He has since moved to another school.
'I thought my son would be safe at school,' she said, her voice quivering. 'You think when you drop off your son, it's a safe place to be.
'But I feel like the coaches should have kept him safe on the soccer field, and they didn't do that.'
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