Pete Hardin, a former federal prosecutor, is questioning why Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer did not follow a police recommendation to file felony charges in the aftermath of a violent locker-room fight that, according to a recently filed lawsuit, left a teenage football player with a…
The lawyer running to unseat Orange County’s district attorney is calling for additional investigation into allegations of hazing in Mater Dei High School’s famed football program.
“These kids were under his care,” Hardin told The Times. “As the head coach of the team, he apparently knew that there was a ritualistic hazing process that these kids went through and did nothing to stop it.”In a case like this, parents understandably want answers quickly, said Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor who teaches law at Loyola Marymount University. But, she said, “it’s the kind of case where you have to be very careful with both the investigation and the charging decision.
The family of the former football player sued Mater Dei and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange last week, alleging negligence, violation of California’s anti-hazing laws, failure to properly protect the student and infliction of emotional distress. The complaint, filed in Orange County Superior Court, described a “rigorous, cutthroat” attitude at an institution that “protects its storied athletic reputation at all costs.
During the fight, the student was struck repeatedly in the head by a bigger player, the lawsuit said. Afterward, the student’s teammates followed him into the bathroom and warned him not to snitch, the lawsuit said. Hardin also questioned whether Spitzer’s office adequately considered charging the crime of hazing. Since 2006, California has allowed for felony prosecutions when serious injuries or deaths result from hazing rites.