CHARLESTON – A Calhoun County mother and her son are suing the county and state school boards over an alleged hazing incident that occurred in a football locker room.
The Calhoun school officials had previously found there was no evidence that four players on the Calhoun County High School football team hazed Mitchell Patterson during a summer practice session last year.
Mitchell's mother, Sherry, filed a lawsuit March 12 in Kanawha Circuit Court against the Calhoun Board of Education, the West Virginia Board of Education, the four players and the parents of three.
All individuals were identified only by their initials in the complaint. But the Charleston Daily Mail previously had identified Sherry and Mitchell.
According to the complaint, on Aug. 7, 2008, Mitchell was attending a summer football practice at the high school when coaches instructed team members to head into the locker room unsupervised.
Once in the locker room, Mitchell was "viciously and brutally attacked, hazed, threatened, batter, assaulted, choked, restrained against his will, kidnapped and bound by his feet and hands" by the four other players, the lawsuit says.
The complaint says Mitchell has suffered emotional and physical damage, embarrassment and humiliation due to the alleged assault.
The family is seeking compensatory and punitive damages on grounds of negligence, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and parental liability.
Tim Carrico is representing the plaintiffs. The case is before Kanawha Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey Walker.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 09-C-446
Calhoun mother, son sue school boards over alleged 'hazing'
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